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ANC Integrity Commission – Phala Phala has deepened divisions and Ramaphosa must take NEC and country into his confidence.

ANC Integrity Commission – Phala Phala has deepened divisions and Ramaphosa must take NEC and country into his confidence.
The draft progress report coming from the ANC Integrity Committee regarding the burglary which took place at party president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in 2020 mentions that the incident has brought the organisation into disrepute. (Photo: Brenton Geach)

The draft progress report coming from the ANC Integrity Committee regarding the burglary which took place at party president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in 2020 mentions that the incident has brought the organisation into disrepute.

The ANC Integrity Committee draft progress report, which has been leaked to  Daily Maverick, paints an unfortunate picture of how the Phala Phala saga has affected the organisation – and further fractured the already divided governing party. The final report will be presented to the National Executive Committee of the ANC which is taking place over the weekend at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Soweto.

In a statement issued by ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe on Friday night, the party has challenged the authenticity of the draft report and called it “baseless”.

“In terms of the Integrity Commission Terms of Reference it is the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson who are authorised and entrusted with full responsibility to engage the media and release any media statements on the work of the commission. Neither of them has to date released any of the commission’s report or media statement on Phala Phala,” according to the statement.

The draft report added: “The issue of Phala Phala, given the continuing intensification of rivalry especially among the leadership of the ANC, suggests that the NEC may not be able to fairly and honestly reflect on this issue and provide appropriate leadership thereof.”

The committee believes that it is in a “complex” situation because it cannot pinpoint an appropriate sanction seeing that they were not given enough information by the president to reach a conclusion. The committee also states that it remains unaware of any facts regarding the events at the Phala Phala farm beyond those in the public domain.

“Given that we have not been able to hear from comrade President we are unable to determine the cause of what has brought the ANC into disrepute. It could be that it is the actions of individuals on comrade President’s farm that has brought the ANC into disrepute. It could be comrade President’s response to events on the farm that has brought the ANC into disrepute. It could be the reporting of the incident to the police station by an ANC member that has brought the ANC into disrepute. 

“It could be forces external to the ANC and the way in which they have mobilised around the incident that has brought the ANC into disrepute. It could be that comrade President broke the law that has brought the ANC into disrepute,” it reads.

Ready in Daily Maverick Phala Phala set to loom large in ‘heated and robust’ talks at final crunch NEC meet before elective conference

It states that the final outcome of the Phala Phala case, whether negative or positive, is believed to be a hurdle for the ANC’s renewal project. 

“The factions and the rivalry are going from strength to strength. They are not lessening or diminishing. The current situation presents the ANC as its own worst enemy and patriotic South Africans are watching with horror the speed with which the ANC is progressing towards its own disintegration. 

“It is now clear that the factions, especially within the leadership will never agree on anything that affects another faction. The above mentioned political situation within the ANC and NEC in particular, put the IC and the implementation of its mandate in an invidious position,” the draft report reads.

The two-page draft report outlines the exact timelines of Ramaphosa’s interactions with the ANC’s disciplinary body and exactly what ensued. 


The committee first met with Ramaphosa on 26 July 2022 at his request. In the meeting Ramaphosa explained that he had every intention of fully engaging with the committee on this issue. However, the day before the engagement the Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka had issued an injunction advising him not to talk to anyone on the issue. 

“He reported that he was therefore in a ‘quandary’ because he was unable to now discuss the issue. Since no engagement took place, the IC was unable to produce a report,” according to the report.

The Integrity Committee then met with Ramaphosa at the end of September 2022. At the time, their main concern was that the Phala Phala issue was not in any way resolved and was escalating.

Read in Daily Maverick: “Ramaphosa pleads innocence, says charges laid against him are politically motivated”.

Former spy boss Arthur Fraser alleged earlier in 2022 that Ramaphosa was involved in illegal activities surrounding a burglary at his farm. He claimed Ramaphosa had breached the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, and that large undisclosed sums of US dollars were removed from the Limpopo farm by burglars.

Instead of reporting the matter to the police, Ramaphosa has been accused of having secretly instructed the head of the police’s Presidential Protection Unit, Major-General Wally Rhoode, to investigate the matter. Rhoode’s investigation led to the belief that the perpetrators were linked to a domestic worker at the farm.

Fraser alleged that the suspects were caught, kidnapped and interrogated, and he believed crimes of defeating the ends of justice, kidnapping and money laundering were committed. Ramaphosa is also alleged to have paid off suspects, including his domestic workers, R150,000 each to not reveal the incident to anyone after the offenders had been traced and apprehended. DM

 

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Comments - Please in order to comment.

  • Johan Buys says:

    If we want people to take SA seriously : a good start would be to drop the use of “comrade”

  • Hermann Funk says:

    When something old is going to die (ANC), something new always wants to be born. This is a HUGE opportunity for renewal, not the of the ANC, but for a more sincere and honest political movement.

  • Jeremy Stephenson says:

    In the opinion of the ANC Integrity Commission, “South Africans are watching with horror the speed with which the ANC is progressing towards its own disintegration.”

    That’s not horror, ANC. The sound you are hearing is joyous applause.

  • Sydney Kaye says:

    If the ANC committee agrees it doesn’t have enough facts to reach a conclusion what do you think actual judges on the panel will find in respect of a prima facie case for impeachment. Obviously nothing. I don’t get the continual asking Cyril to speak out. He has said the proceeds of a sale was stolen, that all the surrounding accusations are false and that he had not committed a crime. What more should he say. The DA is barking up the wrong tree giving comfort to Fraser. .

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