The governing ANC is gearing up for its 55th National Elective Conference, with the Phala Phala Farmgate scandal fallout hanging in the air and the continuous debate around the party’s step-aside rule.
The elective conference takes place at Nasrec from Thursday, December 15 and is expected to wrap up by Monday, December 19. The ANC’s top leadership will be elected, along with a president who will probably run for a second term as the president of the country.
Patricia de Lille: From whistle-blower and anti-graft crusader to sitting on the Phala Phala fence
Patricia de Lille, the founder and leader of the Good Party who is also the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration is a decorated figure in the fight against graft in the public sector.
She has done almost everything to the extent that she has been lined up as the first witness in the ongoing Jacob Zuma arms deal corruption trial.
Read the full story here
WATCH THIS AFTERNOON’S SESSION HERE
BREAKING NEWS: The section 89 report on Phala Phala has been defeated. The ANC others voted no and notched 214 votes. Those who voted yes which includes the EFF, DA, ATM, IFP and UDM, only notched 148 votes. 5 MPs abstained. Worth noting is that 4 ANC MPs, including Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma voted yes.
Video: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)
UPDATE: The parliamentary voting process is now closed, and the speaker says she is waiting for official results. Only 5 ANC MPs defied their party and voted yes to the adoption of the Section 89 report on Phala Phala. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma opened the floodgates.
John Steenhuisen reads Parliamentary rules and guidelines. Says the Speaker is relying on a rule for electronic voting and not manual voting. He agrees that no one who voted should be allowed to change their vote @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
UPDATE: EFF Leader and MP, Julius Malema slams speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Ngqakula for allowing ANC MP Thandi Mahlambehlala to change her vote mid-air. He says there is no option to change your vote during this kind of (open) voting. Also taking the speaker to the task is DA's MP, John Steenhuisen. He says the speaker got it wrong.
BREAKING NEWS: ANC MP, Thandi Mahambehlala, makes a U-Turn. She says her vote (which was yes) was wrongly captured and changes it to "no". DA MP, Siviwe Gwarube raises an objection, saying there are no rules allowing MPs to change their votes mid-air, and allowing them to do so, it delegitimises the voting process.
Members whose names were called but were not present and all those who want to change their votes can now do so @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
UPDATE: The leader of UDM, General Bantu Holomisa voted yes to the adoption of the Phala Phala report. He said, "yes to ethics of good governance." Also voting yes was the leader of ATM, MP Vuyo Zungula. COPE, through Willy Madisha, voted no.
UPDATE: True to its words, the IFP is also voting yes to the adoption of the section 89 Phala Phala report. Their voting was opened by MP Narend Singh who was followed by Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi.
UPDATE: EFF Leader and MP, Julius Malema opens the voting for his party by voting yes (for the adoption of the report). He was followed by his deputy, Floyd Shivambu who also voted yes. The rest followed suit by voting yes
EFF members now voting with Julius Malema starting the vote with a YES @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
Voting resumes with DA members so far all voting yes @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
UPDATE: So far only 5 ANC MPs have voted for the adoption (yes vote) of the section 89 Phala Phala report. They are Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Supra Mahumapelo, Thandi Mahambehlala and two others. Dr Zweli Mkhize and Lindiwe Sisulu are not in the house vote.
Zweli Mkhize is also not present for the vote. His name has been called twice but silence @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
UPDATE: ANC MP Thandi Mahambehlala joins Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in voting yes. Also joining them is Supra Mahumapelo. They have defied the ANC which said all their MPs should vote no.
UPDATE: ANC MP, and deputy minister, Phumulo Masaulle voted no (against the adoption) for the section 89 Phala Phala report. Dr Zweli Mkhize is yet to vote.
BREAKING NEWS: Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma breaks ranks with her ANC colleagues, and votes for the adoption (she voted yes) of Section 89 Phala Phala Report.
UPDATE: MPs are preparing to vote after they called for a vote on whether to conduct an impeachment process against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This comes after a debate by members on both sides of the House with ANC MPs rejecting the motion and the opposition parties calling for the inquiry to take place.
Earlier Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula had said the vote would be done through an open ballot after she rejected calls for a secret ballot.
UPDATE:
Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola: We are here to debate the report, not to character assassinate those who compiled the report. We are holding the president accountable through this debate. The debate itself is about accountability. Even the judgment in Nkandla Parliament will debate, accept or reject the report.
In terms of the rules of Parliament, we can only commence impeachment if sufficient evidence exists. The Public Protector and these eight institutions have not finalised their investigations. If the panel wanted an extension they could have asked. Zondo asked numerous times and we got tired but he produced a report.
The panel report has set the bar too low to impeach the report. Sufficient evidence is a higher standard than prima facie. The evidence must be there, it must be concrete. We do not have sufficient evidence.
Lamola says they are running away from the debate., He says if the president was running from the debate he would have interdicted it.
Even if there is no impeachment it is still accountability.
ANC Ronald Lamola says ANC rejecting the report in terms of Parliament rules. He says no sufficient evidence exists#PhalaPhalaFarm @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
"You are not only destroying your party, but this entire nation too!" says NFP MP Sheik Emam@IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
NFP says the hate that exists in the ANC impacts negatively on every person in SA. "You are it oy destroying your party, but this entire nation too!" says NFP MP Sheik Emam@IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
Zungula says Ramaphosa is escaping accountability.
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
"If he and his supporters believe he is innocent, why are they fighting a process that can clear his name? "#PhalaPhalaFarm @IOL
African Transformation Movement says this is a watershed moment for Parliament.
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
Zungula says Parliament cannot be told to wait for investigations by SARS, HAWKS etc. Ramaphosa is answerable to Parliament. @IOL
FF+, ACDP, UDM support the #PhalaPhalaFarm report.
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa says the fact is there was a large sum of foreign cash found in the President's furniture and questions how was brought into the country? He says let there now be a full inquiry by Parli @IOL
UPDATE:
Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald: If the president had respect for the Constitution. He will avail himself and be accountable to the National Assembly. If the president respects the constitution, he will come forward and answer to this House.
The fact is he admitted the amount in foreign currency. Did you comply with the regulations to declare it. It is common sense to ask,. why did you wait so long, why did you stick in furniture. What the people of SA want is answers to those common sense questions.
ACDP leader Reverend Kenneth Meshoe: I stand here to support the report of the independent panel and its recommendations. on December 11, again petitioned the Speaker to allow for a secret ballot. It is disappointing Speaker our request for a secret ballot was declined. Even if the ANC bullies its members to vote against the report, the matter will not end here. The ACDP calls on Ramaphosa to stop being evasive and answer all unanswered questions
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa: The UDM supports the section 89 parliamentary inquiry. When the panel was given the mandate we were all on board we must now allow the process to run its course.The section 89 panel has found the president has a case to answer, let there now be a full inquiry by parliament.
IFP Inkosi Elphas Mfakazeleni Buthelezi says the country cannot trust Ramaphosa anymore and we're left asking "is there any among them beyond reproach". He saysand says Ramaphosa the "new dawn" in the ANC has proven to be a disappointment #PhalaPhalaFarm @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
Malema says Ramaphosa's answers on #PhalaPhalaFarm is unreliable as it changes according to who he is speaking to.
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
@IOL
EFF leader Julius Malema expressed they are deeply disappointed in Ramaphosa. Today 26 yrs after holding Nelson Mandela's hand, he says Ramaphosa stands as the greatest enemy of the Constitution #PhalaPhalaFarm @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
Steenhuisen says then it was Nkandla, now it's #PhalaPhala. "As long as you got numbers in Parliament, you can make any scandal go away". He says today is not to find a President innocent or guilty, it's about following due processes. @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
Da leader John Steenhuisen now takes the stand. He says 11 days ago @CyrilRamaphosa was ready to quit "because the alternative was unthinkable". The unthinkable being answering questions on the #PhalaPhalaFarmGate @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
UPDATE: Pemmy Majodina has exited the podium. Now on the podium is John Steenhuisen, the leader of the DA in Parliament. Opens by reminding Ramaphosa that a few days ago he was ready to quit, but then changed his mind. He says no one believes Ramaphosa's version of the theft from his Phala Phala farm.
UPDATE: Pemmy Majodima says as the ANC they will never support the adoption of the report since it is full of loopholes and incomplete. She adds that until more evidence is brought forward, they will never adopt it.
UPDATE: Majodima says the Section 89 Report is being challenged in court and as such, they cannot deviate and ignore the rule of law. She adds that if opposition parties want to govern, they must win elections instead of trying to get power through the back door.
UPDATE: After 40 minutes with MPs debating whether to vote for section 89 Phala Phala through a secret ballot, ANC Chief Whip, Pemmy Majodima has now taken the floor to debate. Her debate is in Xhosa. She says the mooted impeachment and removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa is led by ATM which has two members.
Speaker Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula has continued with the debate on the matter and has called ANC Chief Whip Majondina to speak first #PhalaPhalaFarm @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
UPDATE: Parliament descends into chaos over secret voting for Phala Phala report
Cape Town - The first 20 minutes of the sitting of parliament to debate, adopt or reject the section 89 independent panel report on Phala Phala was chaotic.
The debate started smoothly with the speaker, Nosiwe Mapisa-Ngqakula outlining the business of the day.
Soon after that, EFF MP, Floyd Shivambu rose on a point of order to challenge Mapisa-Ngqakula over open voting saying the matter is too delicate to do that.
That irked ANC MPs who heckled him and said his input was an afterthought as it has already been agreed that the voting would be open.
Among the ANC MPs that objected are Doris Dlakude and Bheki Radebe who said Shivambu was out of order.
ATM (African Transformation Movement) MP, Vuyo Zungula, who was the first one to request a secret ballot, stood up and said the speaker was being inconsiderate to reject the results to vote through a secret ballot after some MPs received death threats.
Among those he cited to have received death threats is Mzwanele Nyontsho of the PAC (Pan African Congress) who has already opened a case with the police.
EFF leader and MP, Julius Malema, took the floor to tell the speaker that when the decision for an open ballot was taken, no one has received a death threat.
He said now that there is a clear threat to MPs, the decision to have an open ballot must be reviewed and MPs allowed to cast their votes secretly.
UPDATE: After taking flack for refusing to implement voting through secret ballot, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa Ngqakula says she stands by the decision not to allow it. Shivambu from EFF rises again to challenge her, with some members heckling him.
EFF Julius Malema says the Speaker may want to reconsider the decision based on new information that members have allegedly received death threats regarding their vote #PhalaPhalaFarmGate @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
Speaker Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula requesting they proceed with the debate on the matter #PhalaPhalaFarm @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
Shivambu proposing that before proceeding in this process, they should be allowed to vote on an open ballot. Speaker Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula is not budging. She says all parties who wrote to the Speaker has been responded to and referred to their decision #PhalaPhala @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
EFFs Floyd Shivambu has called a point of order. He raised the Speaker's decision to deny the applications for a secret ballot. He says some members have received threats. He says "there is no other way to hold a President of a Republic accountable" #PhalaPhalaFarmGate @IOL
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
UPDATE: The parliamentary sitting to discuss the section report on Phala Phala has started. Floyd Shivambu from the EFF raises a point of order. He says the matter is delicate and the voting should be a secret ballot. The ANC objects.
UPDATE: The battle over the adoption or rejection of the Phala Phala Section 89 report, which could further worsen the situation for President Cyril Ramaphosa, started in Parliament now.
The ANC will take to the floor first when its Chief Whip, Pemmy Majodina takes the floor first and argue for 9 minutes.
The ANC has given instructions to its MPs to vote against the adoption of the report. However, some ANC MPs like Dr Zweli Mkhize have argued with their colleagues to vote to adopt the report and ignore the directive of the party.
After Majodina, the leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen will take the floor. The opposition has already indicated that it will support the adoption of the report, thus joining the likes of ATM (African Transformation Movement) and the UDM (United Democratic Movement).
#PanelReportVoting Only members who are present when a vote is called shall be permitted to vote.
— Moloto Mothapo (@MolotoMothapo) December 13, 2022
Members of political parties will be called in the following order –
ANC
DA
EFF
IFP
FF Plus
ACDP
UDM
ATM
GOOD
NFP
AIC
COPE
PAC
ALJAMA’AH
Here is the Speaker's List as members of Parliament vote to determine President Cyril Ramaphosa's fate regarding the #PhalaPhalaFarmGate saga. The Parliamentary session is expected to start shortly @IOL pic.twitter.com/lvniR0wGsq
— Kailene Pillay (@kailenepillay) December 13, 2022
All eyes on MPs as they vote on Section 89 report
All eyes are on 400 MPs in the National Assembly when they vote on the Section 89 report on the impeachment of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This comes after the ANC told its MPs that they would have to vote against the report.
Read the full story here
Watch: "Ramaphosa Must Go" protesters removed by SAPS ahead of MP's vote on Phala Phala Report
WATCH: Carl Niehaus is removed by SAPS ahead of MPs debate on Phala Phala report
WATCH: People gather outside Cape Town City Hall ahead of MP’s debate on Phala Phala report
Uncertainty remains over the future of Cyril Ramaphosa. He is due to be the subject of debate in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, as MPs discuss the findings of the Section 89 inquiry chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, who found Ramaphosa had a case to answer and may have contravened the Constitution.
IOL keeps you updated ahead of the build-up to the elective conference.
Showdown looms in Parliament as MPs will vote whether or not to impeach President Ramaphosa
A big showdown is looming today between pro- and anti-Ramaphosa groupings within the ANC as both groups have converged on Parliament sitting at the City Hall where MPs will vote on whether to impeach President Cyril Ramaphosa for his involvement in the Phala Phala scandal.
Read the full story here.
Editor’s View: Waking up to a post-apocalyptic South Africa
Here we are, South Africans under the kosh, at the mercy of sky-rocketing living costs, in the dark and under water, without clear and inspirational leadership. In the dwang, writes IOL Editor-in-Chief Lance Witten.
Read the full story here.
Zuma warns of vote buying in run-up to conference
Former president Jacob Zuma says money has become the determining factor of leadership in the ANC.
Speaking at an ANC event in Ekhuruleni, where he also did a walkabout in the township of Katlehong, Zuma said this was a precarious situation the party was facing because people had a sin of loving money.
Read the full story here.
Carl Niehaus appeals ‘illegal’ ANC expulsion
Former ANC spokesperson and MKMVA national executive committee (NEC) member, Carl Niehaus, has vowed to appeal against his expulsion from the governing party.
Read the full story here.
Aggrieved ANC members challenge ‘suspicious’ NEC nominations
Aggrieved ANC members want detailed information of all branch nominations to be made public or for the matter to be placed on the agenda of this weekend’s national conference and decided by delegates before voting takes place.
Read the full story here.
Opposition to Ramaphosa mounts before the ANC’s national elective conference
Ramaphosa is facing the wrath of fellow ANC members who are calling for his head and accusing him of handling the matter “Mafia style” before the party’s national elective conference kicks off this week.
Read the full story here.
Debate over secret ballot rages on
The debate over whether Parliament should use a secret ballot on Tuesday, when it decides whether to proceed with an impeachment committee for Ramaphosa, continues to rage on.
Read the full story here.
Ramaphosa’s opponents have a habit of being dealt with ‘indirectly’ – political analyst
“President Cyril Ramaphosa, the darling of the capitalists, has a talent for secretly getting rid of his political opponents within the ANC, without him being seen directly doing so,” said political analyst Bheki Mngomezulu.
Read the full story here.
The ANC has expelled Carl Niehaus. These are the charges it found him guilty of
The ANC’s national disciplinary committee has expelled Carl Niehaus for bringing the party into disrepute.
Niehaus was charged with six counts of misconduct for contravening Rule 25 of the ANC constitution.
Read the full story here.