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- The ANC’s integrity commission has criticized President Cyril Ramaphosa for avoiding its request to appear before it.
- Ramaphosa met with the commission in November and finalized his report on December 21.
- The commission criticized Ramaphosa for trying to meet him while armed with his lawyers.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has drawn the ire of the ANC’s integrity commission (IC) by apparently avoiding it for 18 months and by insisting on bringing in legal counsel.
In a report written by committee chair George Mashamba, which News24 has seen, the ANC body of elders said they were disappointed that when he finally appeared before them on November 19, the president did not want to discuss campaign funds. CR17, the basis of his appearance before the committee, until the legal aspect of the matter was finalized.
Despite this annoyance, the integrity commission did not issue an adverse opinion against him in connection with the allegation that he and his campaign used money to buy votes at the ANC’s 2017 national elective conference in Nasrec.
“… with regard to vote buying after the 2017 conference, the IC strongly recommends that if a colleague has reliable evidence of this, they should be brought to the attention of the disciplinary commission as a matter of urgency.”
The integrity commission report on Ramaphosa was dated December 21 and was presented to the secretary-general’s office this week.
“The IC went ahead with the question of meeting with the president and requested, over a period of 18 months, to meet with the president several times, both verbally and in writing. It did not sit well with the IC that the president, especially, but also the Officials continually spoke publicly about the importance of the IC and the work being done, but in reality there was little or no interaction. ”
During a fierce meeting of the national executive committee (NEC) in August, Ramaphosa indicated that he would submit to the commission.
This was after NEC member Tony Yengeni asked Ramaphosa to lead by example and step aside due to allegations of vote buying at the 2017 Nasrec conference.
Mashamba said Ramaphosa’s initial request to meet with the commission, armed with legal representation, was rejected.
“Insisting that the legal process must be concluded to avoid appearing before the IC on the basis that the matters are before the courts distorts the role of the IC, undermines the work of the IC and presents an unnecessary delay to the work of the IC,” Mashamba added .
He said Ramaphosa expressed a desire to address the CR17 campaign, its nature, organization and governance.
However, the commission wanted to focus on the principle of using money in individual leadership campaigns within the organization in the future.
READ | ‘Cyril appeared before the integrity commission’
The CR17 campaign, which was established to finance his candidacy for the ANC presidency, became a point of contention. Numerous political leaders questioned the excessive use of money at ANC conferences.
Although the phenomenon is not new, the names of donors to Ramaphosa’s campaign caused controversy when revealed in leaked emails.
The report on Ramaphosa comes a week after the committee issued a report on the party’s secretary general, Ace Magashule, recommending that he step aside.
Magashule faces 21 counts of corruption, fraud and money laundering related to a besieged asbestos project.
In its scathing recommendation against Magashule, the IC said that the decisions of the party conference should be implemented “without fear or favor.”
While the IC lashed out at Ramaphosa for taking his time to appear before it, it called his engagement honest, frank and productive, with no adverse findings against the president.
The seven-page report details how Ramaphosa came armed with a 69-page presentation on fundraising issues; the curriculum of the school of political education; judicial and political morality; the legitimacy of the next NGC and the national conference, given the dubious legitimacy of some branches of the ANC and other structures; perception of lack of commitment on the part of the leaders with the promise of renewal of the ANC; refusal to comply with the conference resolution to step aside on criminal charges; lack of consequence management in the match; the youth league and ANC leaders, as well as their families and friends who do business with the government.
Ramaphosa highlighted the lessons he learned from the Nasrec conference, saying that once an ANC conference is held, all campaign structures must be dismantled and the financial accounting for all campaigns and each candidate accountable to the committee. integrity. He also said that the ANC’s internal campaign structures must comply with tax laws and any other applicable legislation.
READ MORE | CR17 judgment: Campaign financing will be discussed in the ANC’s national general council, says Duarte
The president added that there must be a very clear commitment on the issue of vote buying and that the practices of previous conferences, derived from the resolutions adopted, must become clear rules.
In March, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria delivered a scathing and damaging judgment against the findings and corrective measures of the public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in her investigation into the donations of the Ramaphosa ANC presidential campaign.
An entire bank quashed its findings, claiming it had acted illegally, recklessly and without jurisdiction to investigate the campaign of the president’s party. The court ruled that Mkhwebane’s findings included material errors in the law. In addition, it found that it had no jurisdiction to investigate the funding of the CR17 campaign. The report followed an investigation into Mkhwebane that began after two complaints from opposition party leaders: former DA leader Mmusi Maimane and the vice president of the EFF Floyd Shivambu.
The matter was taken to Constitutional Court in November, where Ramaphosa’s legal team argued that Mkhwebane’s efforts to appeal the High Court ruling should be dismissed.
A higher court ruling has not yet been handed down.
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