ANC rebels set to vote against Cyril

Group of MPs ready to defy orders from Luthuli House on impeachment

● A group of ANC MPs opposed to President Cyril Ramaphosa say they are prepared to defy the party’s national executive committee if it directs them to vote against the establishment of an impeachment committee on Tuesday.

For it to be instituted, a simple majority vote of the National Assembly’s MPs present have to vote in support of the recommendations of the panel led by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, an impeachment committee will automatically be instituted, as required by parliamentary rules governing the possible removal of a president.

The NEC is yet to make a decision on the matter.

Former ANC North West chair Supra Mahumapelo, who has previously called for Ramaphosa to step down, said he would vote in favour of an impeachment committee.

“If I was listened to, the country and the ANC would not be in this situation today about Ramaphosa and his mattress dollarembedded banking system,” he said on Friday.

Voting against the report would be tantamount to showing contempt for South Africans. “The panel says he has to answer and who are we to say no?

“Who are we to show the society the middle finger?” he said.

In June, Mahumapelo wrote to acting ANC secretary-general Paul Mashatile and suggested that Ramaphosa be given time out while investigations around the Phala Phala saga continued, to avoid possible political interference by the president.

“This will also save the ANC’s deepening instability, disunity, anxiety and polarisation, preserve South Africa’s global standing among progressive nation states and trading partners and preserve the ANC caucus unity in parliament because parliament’s ANC collective is going to be divided on this matter,” he said.

Another ANC MP, Mervyn Dirks, said he would also vote in favour of the establishment of the impeachment committee.

Dirks was suspended in January after calling for the standing committee on public accounts to hold Ramaphosa accountable for remarks he made in a leaked audio clip about the use of state funds in the ANC’s internal campaigns.

This week, he said the ANC must allow due process to unfold.

“The president always speaks about due process. Now, if the report does not favour you, you don’t subvert the process, because South Africans are watching us. We will pay the price in 2024,” he said.

“The process that is currently unfolding is a process that was started by parliament. It was parliament that set up the independent panel and appointed members of that panel. The ANC is the majority in parliament and we decided to do so.

“We can’t now that the panel has come out with a report want to subvert our own processes by rejecting the report of the panel.

“Before that meeting on Tuesday the ANC caucus will definitely get marching orders from Luthuli House.

“Even if we get marching orders the ANC cannot expect us to follow illegal, unethical instructions,” he said.

Another ANC MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity and who is also opposed to Ramaphosa, indicated that there was lobbying in the caucus to vote in support of the report.

“The MPs that we are talking to are saying they are going to support the report because the panel was sanctioned by parliament. It can’t be that now we have this finding, we turn against the panel,” said the MP.

Dirks and Mahumapelo denied lobbying others.

If it is established, the impeachment committee will be tasked with checking the veracity and seriousness of the charges against Ramaphosa and reporting back to the assembly.

According to the rules, it must afford the president the right to be heard in his own defence and to be assisted by a lawyer or other expert of his choice.

“For the purposes of performing its functions, the committee has all the powers applicable to parliamentary committees as provided for in the constitution, applicable law and the rules of the assembly,” reads rule 129M of the National Assembly.

These include the powers to summon any person to appear before it to give evidence under oath or affirmation, or to produce documents.

Once the impeachment committee has concluded its inquiry, it has to report to the assembly and its report must contain findings and recommendations as well as the reasons they were reached.

“If the report recommends that the president be removed from office, the question must be put to the assembly directly for a vote in terms of the rules and if the question is supported by at least two-thirds of the members of the assembly, the president is thereby removed from office with immediate effect,” according to the rules.