IN the wake of further claims made against associates linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa and their alleged involvement in the Phala Phala robbery saga, questions have been raised about whether he will meet Sunday’s deadline for him to respond to allegations.
Ramaphosa has until November 6 to respond to allegations relating to a robbery on his Limpopo farm that are being probed by an independent parliamentary panel.
Opposition parties have expressed concern over what they have termed “dilly-dallying’” by Ramaphosa, who has previously failed to meet deadlines for questions raised over the Phala Phala affair.
The panel was given 30 days to conduct its work, which began on October 19.
This week the African Transformation Movement and the EFF were among the opposition parties that submitted information to the panel on issues relating to the allegations concerning Ramaphosa.
The week also saw former State Security Agency director-general Arthur Fraser making startling revelations in an affidavit he deposed to in June.
Fraser listed a host of individuals – including current and former cabinet members, police officials, and Ramaphosa’s advisor, Bejani Chauke – and called on authorities to investigate their involvement in the events that followed the robbery on the farm.
ATM MP Mxolisi Makhubo said, while the party expected Ramaphosa to seek an extension, he believed such conduct would derail the panel’s work.
"It’s truly in his nature to dilly-dally and postpone certain things every time there is something that he needs to answer."
"We are expecting him to delay on this because it is in his nature to do that. But we do know that the work of this panel is going to keep him from doing that," Makhubo said.
The three-member panel chaired by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo is set to go through the evidence it received after a motion was brought by the ATM.
Ramaphosa is facing four charges relating to irregularities in the reporting of the crime and the conflict of his personal interests with his official position.
Ngcobo, when approached, declined to comment.
This week, the ATM submitted stacks of files it wished to form part of the probe. Electronic copies of the files were also submitted to the panel, with another copy sent to Ramaphosa.
Makhubo revealed that the party had assigned a team of researchers to collect even more information on what had happened on the Limpopo farm.
“We are making a point that we don’t give them breathing space, that there is no room for error. We are doing everything by the book, and we are not going to deviate from what is the law," he said.
Makhubo said more information about Phala Phala had been brought to the party’s attention.
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said any attempt to delay by Ramaphosa would not be accepted.
"We hope the president respects Parliament as an independent arm of the state. And if Parliament requests him to provide answers to some of the allegations, we will make sure that he does,“ Gwarube said.
She said they would not hesitate to call Ramaphosa out should he try to delay the probe.
"If the president has justifiable answers and did nothing wrong, like he has said numerous times, then he should not delay. He has had two years since this incident," Gwarube said.
Freedom Front Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald said Ramaphosa seeking an extension would be yet another negative reflection on him.
"I will not be surprised if he asks for another extension. A dedicated president would have made certain that he followed the rules," Groenewald said.
He added that how Ramaphosa handled the probe and how he responded would be telling, as he had been more than willing to appear before the ANC's integrity committee.
"The fact of the matter is that once again he has put the ANC before the country, when his obligation should have been to the people of South Africa," Groenewald said.
Meanwhile, coverage of the scandal has also been brought into question.
Dr Mkhonzeni Gumede, a lecturer at UKZN’s Centre for Communication, Media & Society, said that, while the media had played its role in keeping the public informed about the matter, most media had been “cautious” in their coverage of it.
“It seems the media is cautious in its coverage because they don’t know what’s next. At this point, the media is doing a good job in keeping up with this story as it unfolds,” Gumede said.
However, he warned that the press should refrain from taking sides and attempting to influence public opinion.
Attempts to reach presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwanya, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe, and chief whip Penny Majodina were all unsuccessful, as calls were ignored and messages went unanswered.