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President Cyril Ramaphosa presents South Africa’s Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan at a joint hybrid session of Parliament on October 15, 2020 (Photo: Flickr / GCIS)
The motion of no confidence to President Cyril Ramaphosa is dead in the water. But what will be of interest is who speaks out in support of the African Transformation Movement proposal when it is debated in the House next week.
The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has two deputies in the House, and even if all the other opposition parties supported it, it still does not reach the majority required to pass the motion of no confidence. That’s because the ruling ANC with 230 of the 400 seats carries the numbers
But the debate on the vote of no confidence gives critics of President Cyril Ramaphosa a chance to shine.
Fundamentally, the motion of no confidence also deals with the financing of the presidential campaign CR17 ANC and the misleading disclosure of this in Parliament.
“The fact that the president did not reveal to Parliament, R500,000.00 Bosasa or the donation of the late Mr. Gavin Watson where he personally benefited as the presidential candidate of his party”, is how ATM leader Vuyolwethu Zungula put it in a statement issued on February 6, 2020 after he filed his motion of no confidence.
More than 1,665 words, the ATM leader also lays out the reasons for Ramaphosa’s failure to lead, from economic devastation, unemployment, poverty and inequality to the series of summits instead of actions. “The President deceived or lied to the nation saying there would be no reduction in cargo until January 13 2020, which was not true. How can we trust anything else it says? “
And that issue of CR17 funding brings the motion of no confidence on ATMs to the heart of politics.
The EFF has gone to court to have the CR17 bank statements released. And during the presidential question and answer session on November 12, 2020, EFF leader Julius Malema raised the issue again: asking Ramaphosa to make those finances public.
Ramaphosa’s response was that he could not do so, as these were not his statements and the Center for Financial Intelligence was in charge.
“I have no form of control over these bank accounts. Therefore, it is not in my power to make any of them public. There is absolutely no evidence of corruption in relation to these CR17 campaign documents ”.
Those statements by the CR17 banks were pivotal in the case of EFF’s best friend, the public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who discovered that the president had misled Parliament and should be investigated for money laundering.
When Ramaphosa brought that report to court for review, Mkhwebane submitted CR17 bank statements as part of his opposing offer, but the documents were sealed.
On March 10, 2020, the Pretoria High Court annulled that report and ruled in favor of Ramaphosa’s offer of review. The EFF later in March 2020 filed its appeals. The ruling of the Constitutional Court in the direct appeal of the Public Protector was pronounced on Thursday.
Dirty? Of course. It’s politics, RSA style.
The ATM no-confidence motion comes at a time of growing factional feud in the ruling ANC, sparked in large part by the arrest for fraud and corruptionand release on bail of 200,000 rand from ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule.
Magashule used his court appearance on Friday, November 13, to gather supporters and said he would not step aside as he was elected by the ANC branches and had not collected a penny.
The ranks of the ANC parliamentary committee include Magashule supporters in addition to the committee chairs who showed their hands when appearing in support of the ANC secretary general in court: Tandi Mahambehlala (international relations), Bongani Bongo (home affairs), Mosebenzi Zwane (transportation), Supra Mahumapelo (tourism) and Joe Maswanganyi (finance).
Everyone will follow the line, as is parliamentary tradition, on those no-confidence motions, unless a secret ballot is called. While the numbers are unlikely to mean that ATM movement is taking place, the numbers would indicate the level of detraction within the ANC ranges.
At this stage, it is unclear whether a secret ballot would be possible, given the hybrid sessions in which many MPs join through virtual platforms that, by their nature, leave an electronic ID.
The ATM motion of no confidence in Ramaphosa, the first since he was elected in February 2018 following the Valentine’s resignation of his predecessor Jacob Zuma, has taken nine months since its inception in early February 2020 to be scheduled in recent days of the parliamentary calendar.
It cannot be divorced from the political maneuvers of South Africa. And it is too good a political opportunity for opposition parties not to make the most of it. DM
