Africa-Press – South-Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa puts the country through another version of Groundhog Day
Watching Parliament last week, you’d be forgiven for thinking you stepped into South Africa’s own version of Groundhog Day.
In the 1993 movie, Bill Murray lives the same day over and over again. In this country’s case, we’ve seen the script before, but the actor has changed.
For years, Jacob Zuma ignored calls to resign over a slew of corruption scandals. Eventually as support within his own party dwindled, he stepped down on Valentine’s Day in 2018 ahead of a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
But instead of a president who has decided to be accountable to citizens about what happened at his Phala Phala game farm in 2020, we’ve got a president who has decided not to say a word, despite also facing a motion of no-confidence vote.
If you listen closely, you might even hear Zuma’s trademark laugh.
In this week’s Friday Briefing, parliamentary reporter Jan Gerber analyses what it means for the country if Parliament fails once again in its oversight role as we have seen many times before.
We also approached several opposition parties to write for us, including the EFF and IFP.
However, only the DA, ActionSA and FF Plus took up the invitation to contribute to this week’s edition.
DA leader John Steenhuisen is of the view nothing legally is preventing Ramaphosa from accounting to Parliament, which is the first place he should account to.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba writes we shouldn’t actually be surprised Ramaphosa has chosen not to answer on what happened on his farm.
Meanwhile, FF Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald points out there is no portfolio committee for the Presidency in Parliament, which means there is no accountability from the president through the mechanism of committees.
We would like to hear your thoughts on how you think the president should be held accountable for the Phala Phala scandal. Send your email to [email protected]
Have a good weekend.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
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