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President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the opening of the 55th National Conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
Pressure is piling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign following the Constitutional Court ruling overturning Parliament’s rejection of the Section 89 Panel Report in December 2022.
The Apex Court ordered that an Impeachment Committee be established to investigate any possible wrongdoing on the part of Ramaphosa.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), ActionSA and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) want the President to resign, while the MK Party has called for a motion of no confidence.
ANC alliance partner, the South African Communist Party (SACP), says the impeachment process must follow sooner, rather than later.
As the main applicant in the Constitutional Court case, EFF leader Julius Malema says the President must resign.
“He should be resigning to prepare himself to come and answer an impeachment process. Remember even if he resigns, he must still come back for impeachment. So you cannot have a President who is preparing [for] an impeachment process this side and then occupying the office of the President at the same time,” says Malema.
“You cannot serve the two. One is going to suffer. So he should go and concentrate on this impeachment. Because it has got serious implications on him as an individual and if I were him, I should resign with immediate effect to focus on this matter,” adds Malema.
Another applicant in the case, the ATM, also wants Ramaphosa out.
ATM parliamentary leader Vuyo Zungula says, “There is no greater sin for the head of state than to be impeached. Therefore if he had any respect for the Constitution and for the people of this country and for the Parliament that represents the aspiration of the people, the only thing he could do, is to resign.”
“Because to be part of the impeachment process as the President and there is a report penned by the former CJ that says there is sufficient evidence for you to be impeached. For us [as the] South African citizens, the only thing that should happen is that he must just resign and focus on clearing his name,” explains Zungula.
Also joining the anti-Ramaphosa chorus is ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who says the best thing the President could do to protect that office is to step down.
“This man has really let us down. He has been a total embarrassment to our country. So the best thing he can do for the first time in his life, make a decision President, just resign. Within the next 72 hours, negotiate with your colleagues in the ANC [and] step aside. We are asking him as ActionSA, Mr President be decisive this time around, just step aside.
“So that you don’t waste our Parliament to really argue. Your case is so clear that you got involved in a serious criminal activity that caused so much embarrassment to the reputation of South Africa,” explains Mashaba.
And with the impeachment process likely to take long and requiring a two-thirds majority or at least 267 MPs to vote in favour of the motion, some parties are now looking to remove him with a simple majority.
Both the MK Party and the ATM are pushing for a motion of no confidence on the President, with the MKP having written to Parliament to have the motion tabled on Wednesday.
VIDEO | MK Party to file a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa
The SACP also want the impeachment process to commence soon.
SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila says, “Let this impeachment be quick. Because when it is delayed there will be nothing left in the form of state assets. Everything would have been sold as there are business people saying they are running operation vulindlela in the Presidency. They are sharing the resources of this country, a new state capture and they are now even trying to sell water to the people.”
VIDEO | SACP host Chris Hani provincial commemoration in Mpumalanga
Meanwhile, the ANC is expected to hold its National Working Committee (NWC) meeting on Monday to reflect on the Constitutional Court judgment.
It’s also D-day for all party members with dual membership to report back to the ANC Secretariat on whether they will be campaigning for the ANC or the SACP in the November 4 polls following the party’s decision to independently contest future elections.
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