Bosasa report: Parties wants Ramaphosa to face consequences, be impeached

President Cyril Ramaphosa: File picture: Jerome Delay/AP Photo.

President Cyril Ramaphosa: File picture: Jerome Delay/AP Photo.

Published Jul 21, 2019

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Opposition parties are gunning for embattled President Cyril Ramaphosa following the release of a damning report against him by Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane.

The DA, EFF and Cope want Parliamentary Speaker Thandi Modise to set the legislature’s wheels in motion against Ramaphosa, with DA leader Mmusi Maimane saying his party would also lay a criminal charge of money-laundering against the president.

This comes after Mkhwebane found Ramaphosa guilty of misleading Parliament and failing to declare a R500000 donation to his ANC presidential campaign from controversial businessman Gavin Watson in October 2017.

Maimane said his party would be laying charges of money laundering against Ramaphosa and others.

“Firstly, it appears that a criminal syndicate is being alluded to in the public protector’s report, and as such, a criminal process must be pursued.

“The DA will be laying criminal charges against Ramaphosa, the CR17 campaign, and the attorney’s trust account involved with the campaign.

“The report is replete with evidence to suggest Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign was marred with financial irregularities and possible money laundering,” Maimane said.

“Put simply, Ramaphosa took dodgy money from Bosasa and lied to Parliament and to the people of South Africa about it.”

The EFF, whose deputy president Floyd Shivambu was one of the complainants in the Bosasa matter, has called on Ramaphosa to comply with Mkhwebane’s remedial action.

“The Speaker of the National Assembly must initiate a process to subject Ramaphosa to parliamentary discipline.”

The red berets’ spokesperson Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi also expressed “great concern” on the millions of rands in donor money that funded Ramaphosa’s 2017 ANC presidential campaign.

“We agree with the public protector that this amounts to state capture, in particular, as some of these individuals could go on to benefit from state business, or be preferred for positions in state institutions and companies. In our view, this underlines Ramaphosa’s reluctance to act on the public protector’s remedial action in relation to (Minister of Public Enterprises) Pravin Gordhan.

“This is because he knew he too is implicated in breaking the constitution,” said Ndlozi.

Cope president Mosiuoa Lekota said Ramaphosa must be impeached based on the report.

“He has to be impeached. What happens to people when they are caught lying in court? They get arrested and charged. If he has been found to have lied, he must face the consequences and be impeached,” he said. Lekota said he was not surprised by the report as Mkhwebane found herself in the middle of a factional battle and allegedly chose sides.

SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo echoed Cope’s sentiments, saying the party was equally not surprised by the findings because Mkhwebane’s “posture indicated all along that she was destined towards a negative finding”.

“The SACP expressed its reservations a while ago about the manner in which advocate Mkhwebane conducts herself and the affairs of the absolutely important office of the public protector. The material basis of the concern is found in the damning court judgments against her,” he said.

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