The Section 89 panel of experts assessment deadline on Ramaphosa issue draws closer

The ten-day assessment of the Section 89 Independent Panel of Experts to determine whether or not President Cyril Ramaphosa has a case to answer on Constitutional grounds is getting closer.

The panel of experts had been assessing the information submitted by the African Transformation Movement (ATM), Economic Freedom Front (EFF), and United Democratic Movement (UDM) as well as Ramaphosa’s responses in relation to the theft of millions of US Dollars from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo on 9 February 2020.

The assessment is conducted in terms of National Assembly Rule 129, which outlines all the processes to be followed when a substantive motion is brought by a member calling for the removal of a president in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution.

Once the panel reports back to the National Assembly speaker, Rule 129 (I) dictates that the speaker “must schedule the report for consideration by the Assembly with due urgency, given the programme of the Assembly.”

The President must also be informed when the report will be scheduled for consideration by the House and the decision on the panel’s report. If the Assembly agrees with the panel’s recommendation and resolves to establish a Section 89 Inquiry, the matter must be referred to a Section 89 Committee which is established for the purpose of conducting such an inquiry.

The panel has exactly five days left to conclude its assessment, write and finalise its report from today.