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President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing the wrath of fellow ANC members who are calling for his head and accusing him of handling the matter “mafia style” ahead of the party’s national elective conference that kicks off this week.
The beleaguered Ramaphosa is expected to battle it out with former health minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize who is challenging Ramaphosa for the position of president of the party on the first day of the conference.
Despite having the most nominations, some of Ramaphosa’s own members have taken to social media to voice their frustrations and concerns over the president’s leadership and the Phala Phala scandal that has been hanging over him in recent weeks.
He is accused of concealing a crime at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo after millions of US dollars were stolen in 2020.
The parliamentary Section 89 panel chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found Ramaphosa may have committed serious violations of the Constitution by “acting in a manner inconsistent with his office”, exposing himself to a situation involving a conflict between his official responsibilities and his private business, as well as violating sections of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
Ramaphosa has turned to the Constitutional Court to have the matter reviewed and set aside, which has irked some of his party members.
Media reports yesterday said ANC NEC member and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the Farmgate scandal was being handled “mafia-style” by Ramaphosa.
Speaking at a meeting in Cape Town last week, Sisulu pleaded with her delegates from the Boland and Dullar Omar regions to maintain the integrity of the ANC this week at Nasrec.
“Public accountability guarantees value attached by the people to effective governance, this is a source of legitimacy of the ANC. It cannot be changed now to shield an individual who is messing up the reputation of our movement,” Sisulu said.
Political adviser to Sisulu, Mphumzi Mndekazi, said delegates equally reaffirmed and reassured Sisulu of their support.
Sisulu is one of the hopefuls at the elective conference, seeking to either challenge Ramaphosa for the presidency, or settling for the position of deputy president in support of Mkhize.
Another NEC member who is also a presidential hopeful, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, recently called for Ramaphosa to step aside following the panel report.
“I think the president has to step aside now and answer the case. If you go and read the ANC step-aside rule, I think he should step aside,” said Dlamini Zuma in a tweet last month.
Also on social media, former ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini launched a subtle attack on the president at the weekend, saying the party was on the verge of collapse.
She wrote on Twitter: “When you have an organisation within an organisation the organisation will collapse. We take decisions, but people have meetings, take decisions before actual decisions of the ANC NEC.
“Even those we trusted and thought were beyond reproach have been used. What’s the price?” asked Dlamini.
Former ANC spokesperson Carl Niehaus responded to Dlamini’s tweet. He wrote: “Our @MyANC is in deep crisis! There’s no need to beat about the bush. It is on the verge of collapse. This week will determine the future. If @CyrilRamaphosa & his mafia manage to bribe and buy their way back into the leadership of the ANC, it will disintegrate & be destroyed.”
Another NEC member, Tony Yengeni, has been the most vocal in calling for Ramaphosa to step down as president of the country.
