Johannesburg - The month of December has started on a bad note following a series of cancellations of engagements by President Cyril Ramaphosa, his office, and that of deputy president David Mabuza.
First to be cancelled was a media briefing that the Office of the President had arranged to brief the media on the outcomes of the Section 89 Panel, which delivered a blow to President Ramaphosa, who was found to have violated the Constitution and his oath of office following the Phala Phala farm scandal, where millions of dollars were stolen at his Bela Bela farm in 2020.
According to media reports, the Section 89 report has resulted in last-minute cancellations and confusion as the president faces calls for him to step down after the panel, chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, found Ramaphosa to have violated the Constitution and other laws when he tried to conceal the robbery at his farm.
The panel found prima facie evidence against the president following allegations against him concerning the robbery at his game farm in February 2020, where millions of dollars in foreign currency were allegedly stolen and later recovered in Namibia.
The panel said the president may have also seriously violated the Constitution in terms of Section 96 (2) (b) by acting in a way that is inconsistent with his oath of office and exposing himself to any situation involving the risk of a conflict between his official responsibilities and private interests of the constitution.
According to its findings, the panel also found that the President may have committed serious misconduct and violated the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act and that he may have acted inconsistently with his oath of office and exposed himself to a conflict of interest.
On Thursday, it was announced that the National Council of Provinces had cancelled its question-and-answer session with Ramaphosa. NCOP chief whip Seiso Mohai informed the delegates of the council that the council had received a request from the president to postpone the session to give him time to process the Section 89 report.
"As you may be aware, the Section 89 independent panel process has been unprecedented in the life of our constitutional democracy," Mohai said.
Ramaphosa was scheduled to answer questions on issues of load shedding, rural development, and the development of the township economy during this session.
Another cancellation came from the president’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, who, on Wednesday, announced that he would no longer be hosting a media briefing scheduled for today.
"Members of the media are advised that the media briefing by the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Vincent Magwenya, that was scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, December 1, 2022, has been cancelled. The Presidency announced earlier today that Mr Magwenya would update the public through a media briefing on the President’s public programme for the week. We apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused," the statement reads.
On Thursday morning, it was reported that the deputy president would no longer be addressing the World Aids Day event in Bloemfontein, where he was to be the keynote speaker as the country commemorates this important day.
"The Deputy President, in his capacity as chairperson of the South National Aids Council, will no longer deliver the main address at the World Aids Day commemoration event. The minister of health, Dr Joe Phaahla, will now deliver the main message on behalf of the chairperson," a statement said.
The Star