Africa-Press – South-Africa. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says political detractors who believed President Cyril Ramaphosa wouldn’t finish his term in office have been muzzled by the release of the acting Public Prosecutor report that cleared him on the Phala Phala matter.
Mbalula said on Saturday that the ANC welcomed the report’s outcome because it helped lower a political burden on the party.
“There are people sitting here hoping the president will not finish his term. Kholeka has shown them fireworks and released that report. As the ANC, we are very happy that the Public Protector has exonerated our president,” Mbalula said while speaking at the opening address of the ANC Youth League conference at Nasrec in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Ramaphosa came very close to resigning from his position as the president of the country last year as the controversy around Phala Phala picked up steam ahead of the ANC national congress in December.
He was talked out of the decision by high-ranking ANC members, including ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe, News24 reported.
The allegations about his culpability in the burglary at his Limpopo farm in February 2020 were used against him in December.
On Friday, acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka found that the complaints that Ramaphosa violated the ethics code regarding the Phala Phala matter were unsubstantiated.
He was not guilty of violating the executive ethics code, she concluded. Mbalula said the ANC welcomed this report despite opposition political parties remaining unhappy about the outcome.
He said those who felt strongly about the Phala Phala matter should approach the courts for the report to be reviewed instead of airing their dissatisfaction in public.
The DA and the African Transformation Movement, who filed the complaint with the Public Protector, are likely to take the report on review.
“We believe the president will pass the test of time regarding this issue. If they feel like the report is weak, they have no right to offend the office and that woman (Gcaleka).The report can be taken on review. We welcome the report. The president has stated that he is innocent. We took the position we took because there are processes. Allow those processes to continue. That report is very clear that these allegations were not substantiated,” Mbalula said.
Ramaphosa’s office also released a statement on Saturday, saying he had always maintained that he did not violate the executive ethics code.
“The president has always maintained that he was not a party to any wrongdoing or violation of his oath of office,” said Vincent Magwenya, on behalf of the president.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
