OPPOSITION parties are threatening to take Parliament’s rejection of the independent panel report on Phala Phala on judicial review.
This after the opposition parties lost the vote on whether parliament should adopt the report and start a process to impeach President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Despite a handful of ANC members breaking ranks and voting with the opposition, the majority of them voted to reject the report as per instructions from the National Executive Committee (NEC).
So far, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and African Transformation Movement (ATM) have come out to say they will be challenging the outcome, in particular citing the decision of National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as irrational for denying a secret ballot.
EFF leader Julius Malema described the outcome as a sad day when ANC MPs shunned their constitutional obligation to defend a party leader.
In a statement following the outcome of the debate and vote, the red berets lambasted the ruling party for its member’s conduct.
“It is patently clear that the ruling party has learnt nothing from the mistakes it has made in the past, and South Africa must know that it is an organisation characterised by unrepentant arrogance in their corruption and constitutional delinquency.
“The enemies of the rule of law and the Constitution are those who claim to have liberated South Africa, and the supposed architect of the Constitution has resolved to undermine everything it stands for,” it said.
It added that just like during former president Jacob Zuma’s era, the governing party has chosen to use its majority in Parliament to defend corruption and stifle accountability.
The party lambasted Mapisa-Nqakula for not granting a secret ballot even in the face of MPs being threatened with death, and described her conduct as irrational and partisan.
“In light of the various breaches of the Constitution and undermining of the integrity of the process of voting on whether to adopt the report, the EFF intends to take the decision to reject the report in Parliament on judicial review on an urgent basis.
“Ramaphosa will not survive Phala Phala Farm, and his legacy will be that he undermined the rule of law in South Africa. He will never know peace and his best course of action remains immediate resignation, because the EFF will ensure he leaves the office of the President of South Africa disgraced, exposed and without a cent,” it vowed.
ATM leader Vuyolwethu Zungula said his party will also be approaching the court to challenge Parliament’s decision not to institute an inquiry on Phala Phala as recommended by the panel.
Although the main opposition, the DA, didn’t specifically say they would be going to court, it vowed to use every resource at its disposal to hold Ramaphosa accountable.
The party, in a statement, responding to the Parliament rejection, said despite the ANC pledging to correct its ways of protecting its leaders following a scathing State Capture report, the party has again failed in this attempt.
“Today South Africans were left in no doubt that the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa is no different to the presidency of Jacob Zuma, and that both men would not hesitate to damage and weaken Parliament to evade scrutiny and the law.
“Perhaps even more disappointing is that this behaviour was happily welcomed by President Ramaphosa himself, who has done everything in his power to avoid answering questions truthfully about the money he hid in his farmhouse.”
