Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has made serious findings into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s conduct in relation to a R500 000 donation from Bosasa during his campaign to become ANC president.
Mkhwebane has found that president Cyril Ramaphosa deliberately mislead Parliament when he was asked about the donation from Bosasa.
Public Protector Media Briefing https://t.co/CB8Z10h8HN
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The PP released her report into allegations of a violation of the Executive Ethics Code by Ramaphosa in relation to improper relations with Global Operations, formally BOSASA, at the PP house in Pretoria on Friday.
Mkhwebane started her briefing by thanking the president for the dignified manner with which he conducted himself during the course of this investigation. “The respect he accorded my office from the moment I informed him about this investigation to this point has been exemplary. The president conducted himself in that manner because he understood that he is not above scrutiny,” said Mkhwebane.
She said all donations made to President’s campaign were of material benefit to him.
The Public Protector has given Speaker 30 days to demand that Ramaphosa make public all donations to his CR17 campaign as he was deputy president of the country at the time.
Public Protector has also given the NDPP Shamila Batohi 30 days to begin further money-laundering investigations in relation to her findings about the donation to the president's campaign.
The Public Protector also investigated whether the President had a duty to disclose donations to the CR17 campaign to parliament as he was deputy president.
“I have evidence that some of the money collected by the CR17 campaign trust account was also transferred into the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation account and from there to other beneficiaries,” said Mkhwebane.
In another finding, Mkhwebane has found that Ramaphosa also breached the Executive Ethics Code by failing to disclose financial interest accrued to him as a result of the donations received towards the CR17 campaign.
Mkhwebane has also found that Ramaphosa violated the Executive Ethics Code in that he exposed himself to a situation involving the risk of conflict between himself and his son, through businesses owned by AGO.
"In light of the evidence before me, it can be safely concluded that the campaign pledges towards the CR17 campaign were some form of sponsorship, and that they were direct financial sponsorship or assistance from non-party sources other than a family member or permanent companion and were therefore benefits of a material nature," Mkhwebane said.
She added that because Ramaphosa benefitted from the campaign proceeds personally, he was duty-bound to declare such financial benefit accruing to him.
