President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled all his government engagements for the day, following the Section 89 Panel’s hand over of its report to the National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula yesterday.
Ramaphosa was scheduled to update the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on issues including government’s plans to address rolling blackouts and the development of township and rural economy.
But in a shocking turn of events, the President wrote to the chairperson of the NCOP, Amos Masondo, informing him that he needed to take time to consider the contents of the report.
In his letter Ramaphosa says this report is unprecedented in the life of the constitutional democracy, and that he wants to attend to the report.
Ramaphosa has also postponed the Venezulan President Nicolas Maduro’s state visit to South Africa, which was scheduled to start on the sixth of this month when Parliament is expected to debate the report.
The Deputy President David Mabuza has also cancelled his engagements for the day.
Mabuza in his capacity as the Chairperson of the South African AIDS Council, will no longer deliver an address at the World Aids Day commemoration event.
