Africa-Press – South-Africa. Capetonians have mixed views over whether President Cyril Ramaphosa should pre-empt an impeachment process and resign from his post.
A Section 89 independent panel report – investigating the theft of money from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo in 2020 – found Ramaphosa may have committed serious violations and breached anti-corruption laws.
Ramaphosa failed to convince the panel that he had acted in accordance with the law and the Constitution after the burglary and could face an impeachment investigation by lawmakers.
Sakumzi Nyamza said the president should not resign.
“There are a lot of factors that will be impacted if he resigns. I don’t think he should resign because if he does, the rand will collapse due to the fact that he will be the third president not to complete his term in office, investor confidence will be impacted,” Nyamza said.
Nyamza suggested that Ramaphosa should instead wait for the ANC conference happening later this month to see if he was voted in as ANC president again.
Lynn Ngiba had a different view, and said the president should do “the decent thing” and resign.
Ngiba said:
“How does one have millions of dollars stashed under your mattress and then expect us to believe we are living in a free South Africa where my president is busy addressing crime and corruption but yet he is part of the problem?”
Toto Konco said the president needed to step down as soon as possible to save himself from further humiliation.
“The Section 89 independent panel found that Ramaphosa has a case to answer regarding the findings of his Phala Phala farm and that tells a story. Yes, the report doesn’t say he must be impeached but it does find that he may have breached the Constitution and that is a very serious charge,” Konco said.
He said the president faced serious accusations so he should face the music.
“He must do the honourable thing and resign now before he is forced out.”
Domonique Parker was of the view that citizens should look at all the good Ramaphosa has done for the country and not focus on “one thing that has thrust him into the spotlight”.
He asked:
Parker said he doesn’t think people should ignore all the good the president has done.
“Look at how he handled the past two years of the pandemic. I think his good outweighs the bad, to be honest,” Parker added.
Mark Jacobs said if the money found on the farm was a result of legitimate business, then Ramaphosa shouldn’t feel the need to resign.
“If the money found was not state funds, it shouldn’t really impact his presidency. If it’s his own private money… what’s that got to do with us? Ramaphosa is a businessman and what he does with his own private money really shouldn’t impact the country especially if he paid taxes on it.
“Whether he hid it in a mattress, fridge or some other dodgy places that’s his own business, so if he’s been compliant then I don’t think he needs to resign,” Jacobs added.
Clive Appolis said the Ramaphosa knew exactly what he was doing when the money was hidden at the farm.
Appolis said:
Betty Duli Makinase said if Ramaphosa resigned it would be a “catastrophe” to have Deputy President David Mabuza lead the country.
“I strongly feel that Mabuza should never lead this country so Ramaphosa should stay,” she said.
Maegan-Leigh Jacobs said the president should only resign if found guilty.
“I think Ramaphosa should not resign, he should only step down should the report find him 100% guilty of money laundering and covering it up. He’s done a great job in leading the country as a president, but we shouldn’t be scrutinising him if he hasn’t fully told us his side of the story.”
Jacobs said there would be massive repercussions should Ramaphosa step down now, as the economy “is already messed up” and it will suffer even more if Ramaphosa resigned in the next few days.
Ghoosain Hendricks said he found himself questioning Ramaphosa’s leadership skills, especially since the Phala Phala report indicated the president should be investigated.
“Can we really call him a president if he has these damning allegations against him? To resign makes him look guilty, [but] the president needs to do what he feels is the right decision. The country is riddled with crime, to have our own president involved in such allegations doesn’t portray the skills of a good leader so he needs to go. Ramaphosa must go,” said Hendricks.
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