Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa will be under pressure in Parliament next week with opposition parties set to launch a full-scale attack on his funding by well-known South Africans.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane and EFF leader Julius Malema have demanded answers on his funders and those behind raising money for his CR17 campaign.
The Sunday Independent reported that several business people had donated millions of rands to Ramaphosa’s campaign. This week Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba agreed to seal the documents related to Ramaphosa’s campaign with banking details of his funders.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane had submitted the records to explain how she got information on the funders of the CR17 campaign.
Mkhwebane has said she got the information from the Financial Intelligence Centre.
In his question to Ramaphosa Maimane wants to know if he will appoint a judicial commission of inquiry into Bosasa donations and the findings of the public protector into his own campaign.
Maimane wants Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to appoint the commission to be chaired by a retired judge. This proposal is similar to the findings by then public protector Thuli Madonsela for ex-president Jacob Zuma to get Mogoeng to appoint a judge to head the state capture commission.
This was because at the time Zuma, who was president in 2016, was conflicted and allegations had been levelled against him.
Malema has not spared Ramaphosa either as he wants him to come clean on those behind his campaign financing.
“With reference to his reply to question 4 on February 20, 2019, wherein he stated that he was not involved in fund-raising for his campaign to become president of his political organisation, known as the CR17 campaign but only met with potential funders at dinners organised by those leading the campaign, what are the details of the persons in the office of the president and the Cabinet who were involved in fund-raising for his campaign and the potential funders whom he met at each specified dinner as per his reply,” asked Malema.
The Sunday Independent reported that Deputy Minister in the Presidency Thembi Siweya was one of the people involved in the CR17 campaign and she was paid R2.3million.
It also said Minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was also paid R5m for her involvement in the campaign.
Two other senior ANC politicians were said to have been paid for the campaign of Ramaphosa.
The president is locked in a legal battle with Mkhwebane over her findings into his ANC presidential campaign.
This has raised debate within the ANC, and the ruling party has agreed to deal with its rules on campaign financing.