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Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
The African Transformation Movement (ATM) says it welcomes the decision taken by the National Assembly Speaker, Thoko Didiza, to establish an impeachment committee.
The establishment of the committee is the result of a Constitutional Court judgment last Friday. This, after the court ruled that Parliament should establish an impeachment committee for President Cyril Ramaphosa to answer to prima facie evidence about foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala farm in 2020.
ATM Spokesperson Zama Ntshona says this an important constitutional step towards accountability.
“As the African Transformation Movement, we would like to welcome the establishment of the Parliamentary Impeachment Committee as an important constitutional step towards accountability and the protection of our accountability. However, the true measure of this process will not be its information, but whether it is conducted with integrity, fairness and independence. We call on Parliament and particularly the Speaker of the National Assembly to ensure that this committee is not reduced to a political exercise designed to shield the executive power from scrutiny.”
Phala Phala Saga | A look at work of impeachment committee with Adv Lufuno Nevondwe
COSATU
The trade union federation COSATU has vehemently rejected the composition of Parliament’s Impeachment Committee, which it deems to be blatantly unconstitutional.
The Committee will be made up of 31 members, in an effort to include all 18 political parties represented in the legislature.
COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator Matthew Parks says their contention is based on the fact that the composition has been done at the expense of the largest party in Parliament, the African National Congress (ANC).
Parks says in proportion to the ANC’s representation in Parliament, the party is entitled to at least 12 members, instead of the allocated nine.
He says the allocation undermines the electorate, which gave the ANC 40% of the seats in Parliament in the 2024 general election.
Q&A session
The President came under intense pressure in the National Assembly on Thursday as some MPs confronted him over the Constitutional Court judgment on the Phala Phala scandal.
The heated Q&A session was marked by dramatic scenes inside the House, with MPs from the MKP, EFF and ATM staging a walkout. The parties accused Ramaphosa of being what they called a “constitutional delinquent” following Friday’s court ruling.
The session once again exposed deep political divisions in Parliament, with opposition parties using the ruling and questions around accountability to intensify pressure on the President.
