The African National Congress (ANC)’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is expected to meet on Monday at NASREC, south of Johannesburg, to discuss the Phala Phala matter amid calls from some quarters for President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign.
The NEC meeting follows the National Working Committee’s discussions on Sunday. Party president Ramaphosa recused himself from the NWC meeting but said he would attend Monday’s NEC meeting.
Ramaphosa has stated that he has recused himself from the NWC meeting because he does not want any leaders to be intimidated by his presence.
“It’s always best when a matter that affects a person personally. It’s best that discussions are held with the person having recused themselves. So that has led to my recusal to enable North West members to have an ongoing thorough discussion on the report without my presence so that they are free to express themselves without any form of fear or favour,” says Ramaphosa.
The President came under fire for not attending Friday’s NEC meeting with his detractors seeing it as a snub.
The Section 89 High Panel report on the Phala Phala farm has shaken Ramaphosa’s presidency and put a test to his strength in the party’s National Executive Committee.
Earlier President’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said that Ramaphosa would not be pressured into making any rash decisions amid some reservations about the Section 89 expert panel report on Phala Phala.
In the political showdown of the Special NEC meeting, the President will be present while the deliberations are underway.
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President Ramaphosa is also pondering on taking the High Panel Section 89 report on legal review at the constitutional court.
“I will be present in the NEC tomorrow and will make announcements on the way forward in due course.”
The ANC is in the race against time to finalise the matter. Ramaphosa’s political future as head of state will be determined by the NEC, his allies seemingly all lined up to defend the President but his detractors also wanting a resignation.
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Former State Security DG Arthur Fraser laid a criminal complaint against Ramaphosa earlier this year claiming that the president had not reported the alleged theft of a large amount of US currency from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. President Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing.
