Johannesburg - The Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation has moved swiftly to clarify it did not fund President Cyril Ramaphosa’s campaign for the ANC presidency in December 2017.
This comes after Dr James Motlatsi, who is one of the trustees of the foundation, said on radio on Monday that the foundation may have partially funded Ramaphosa’s campaign for the ANC presidency.
The president has been under the spotlight since DA leader Mmusi Maimane revealed in Parliament last year that the tainted Bosasa company, which received billions in allegedly corrupt government contracts, had paid a R500 000 donation through its chief executive Gavin Watson, towards the campaign.
The DA asked the Public Protector’s office to investigate the matter. Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has not officially released the report, but preliminary findings leaked to the Sunday Independent two weeks ago showed that she intended to find that the president had "misled" Parliament when asked about the R500 000 donations.
Mkhwebane added, the Sunday Independent reported, that Ramaphosa may have been involved in money-laundering since Watson’s donation had been made through several intermediaries.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mmabatho Maboya, the chief executive of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, said the foundation had made no financial contributions towards the CR17 campaign.
The foundation said it had no political mandate and thus, did not fund political activities.
It said it worked closely with organisations and had benefited more than one million beneficiaries.
Maboya said Motlatsi, though respected, was not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the organisation.
“The suggestion that the foundation contributed funds to the campaign is incorrect. It is unfortunate if such an impression was created,” she said.
Maboya said the foundation, which was established in 2004, formerly as the Shanduka Foundation, was an independent public benefit organisation that aimed to improve the lives of South Africans by creating opportunities through education and enterprise development.
“We are very proud of our track record. Over the past 15 years, our work has been made possible by the generosity of the many partners that believe in our mandate,” said Maboya.
Meanwhile, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe appeared to rubbish claims that the party was set to call for a motion of no confidence in Mkhwebane.
This after reports at the weekend from the Sunday Times that the ANC was set to approach the DA to withdraw its motion, so that it could institute a motion of no confidence in Mkhwebane.
“The ANC is capable of speaking for itself, reports can’t speak on behalf of the ANC. If the ANC wants to do anything in parliament, the ANC will speak for itself,” Mabe told the Business Day.