Johannesburg - As the pressure mounts on President Cyril Ramaphosa to consider resigning as the head of state, information coming from the NEC meeting held this afternoon suggests that more NEC members have turned on him.
Ramaphosa, who is the ANC President, did not attend this afternoon's special NEC meeting, which was largely about the Section 89 Independent Panel’s finding on whether he had a case to answer for the Phala Phala farmgate scandal.
A source close to proceedings has revealed to The Star that there was a major argument from many in the NEC that Ramaphosa’s ‘consultations’ started with persons outside the ANC and not the ANC officials.
According to the source, this is regarding calls for former president Kgalema Motlanthe to step in, if and when Ramaphosa steps down.
"The desire for Kgalema to lead is also a bump because the ANC has a deputy. They’re asking: 'Who commissioned Ramaphosa or his inner circle to solicit a president?" the insider said.
According to the insider, Motlanthe has expressed that he’s not interested in being a "caretaker president."
President Ramaphosa is facing serious allegations, which ultimately say that he has seriously violated the Constitution, which meant breaking an oath.
The Section 89 panel found prima facie evidence against the president, following allegations against him concerning the robbery at his game farm in February 2020, where millions of dollars in foreign currency were allegedly stolen and later recovered in Namibia. The president failed to report the matter to law enforcement agencies and also failed to declare the money and its source of origin, which further complicated the matter.
The panel said the president may have also seriously violated the Constitution in terms of Section 96(2)(b) by acting in a way that is inconsistent with his oath of office and exposing himself to any situation involving the risk of a conflict between his official responsibilities and private interests of the constitution.
According to its findings, the panel also found that the president may have committed serious misconduct and violated the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, and that he may have acted inconsistently with his oath of office and exposed himself to a conflict of interest.
The Star