ANC NEC meeting did not discuss Ramaphosa’s intensions to step down or not: Mashatile

African National Congress (ANC) Acting Secretary-General Paul Mashatile says the party’s NEC meeting at Nasrec south of Johannesburg did not discuss whether or not party President, Cyril Ramaphosa, expressed his intentions to step down or not.

The NEC has adjourned after meeting briefly and will reconvene on Sunday to discuss the expert panel’s report on the Phala Phala matter.

ANC NEC’s Phala Phala meeting postponement: Pule Mabe

Mashatile says Ramaphosa did not attend the NASREC meeting, “The President was not in the meeting. He’s busy consulting as far as we are concerned. The issue of the President putting his intention to resign or not didn’t arise. It’s only now that the officials are going to be meeting with him, probably tomorrow, if he’s back from Cape Town.”

Reaction to adjournment of ANC NEC meeting: Angelo Fick:

Meanwhile, Corruption Watch is calling on President Ramaphosa to take full accountability for his alleged role in the Phala Phala robbery debacle.

The Section 89 expert panel’s report says Ramaphosa may have a case to answer in the Phala Phala matter.

It relates to the 2020 alleged robbery of US currency amounting to more than nine million rand allegedly stolen from the President’s farm. The cash was allegedly from the sale of buffalo at the farm.

Corruption Watch’s Executive Director, Karam Singh says: “It’s concerning that we find ourselves in this moment when we believe we had turned a corner in the error of state capture. So much faith had been put in the executive to lead the fight against corruption. It does raise serious questions about the conduct of our leadership. Their involvement in business that includes transferring of large sums of cash, as well as cover-up.”