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By Sifiso Mahlangu, Sihle Mavuso 
2h ago
Johannesburg – The battle between President Cyril Ramaphosa and Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula is heating up. Mapisa Nqakula is said to be “extremely angry” at the discipline Ramaphosa imposed on him after the infamous ANC trip to Zimbabwe on a military plane.
The Star has reliably known that Ramaphosa was involved in the preliminary meetings leading up to the trip. The Star also learned that Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party had turned down ANC President Gwede Mantashe’s attendance at the meeting because it meant that the party would also have to be represented by the president and general secretary.
An agreement was reached that the ANC delegation would be headed by ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule.
Ramaphosa is said to have been duly informed about the ANC delegation traveling with Mapisa Nqakula.
The Star also learned that the trip was originally scheduled to be September 8-10, but the meetings were only held one day after Zanu-PF contested the ANC delegation meeting with them and with opposition from Zimbabwe the same day.
Interestingly, while the ministerial manual says that the president must approve all travel in this way 24 days in advance, Ramaphosa approved the trip over the phone one day before the delegation left.
According to sources from the Department of Defense and Military Veterans, Mapisa-Nqakula is furious that Ramaphosa threw her under the bus when the decision fell through.
In assessing the controversy, Kobus Marais, the defense spokesman for the district attorney, told The Star that they would push for Ramaphosa to be held accountable as he appears to be misleading the nation on the matter.
He noted that the president’s response seemed increasingly likely that he was aware of the trip.
“This happened under his supervision, and therefore (he is) the person ultimately responsible. There seems to be evidence that he was part of the ANC’s discussions and the decision to visit the Zanu-PF, ”Marais said.
Furthermore, he alleged that Ramaphosa’s decision to approve the trip in writing was an act of a man who was caught with his pants down.
“It seems to have been mined to such and that not even the intelligence agencies warned him.
“It allowed the Ministry of Defense to deviate from the advance request rule for visits abroad without punishment. Their approval on September 10 seems hindsight, perhaps because they were caught online. Nowhere in the approval is there a reference to verbal approval or even a note to that effect.
“At this time, you have extensive secure options at your disposal to confirm such approval.
“The timelines of the events clearly give the impression that the minister’s visit was arranged at the last minute to offer the flight to ANC officials,” he said.
Coinciding with Marais, political analyst Thabani Khumalo said it was “impossible” that Ramaphosa did not know about the arrangements.
“I don’t think Ramaphosa was unaware of the trip to Zimbabwe, it is impossible that he did not know,” Khumalo said.
He added that Ramaphosa’s decision to penalize Mapisa-Nqakula by reducing his salary for three months would worsen their relationship as it was not the best since the latter was included in the Cabinet as part of an agreement to appease the Zuma faction. in the ruling party.
The Star has learned of another dynamic in the story. It appears that the ANC initially had no money to fly and there were no flights to Zimbabwe as the country was in a level 2 lockdown. According to Dalington Mpofu of the Zimbabwe Aviation Authority, the reception at the airport was arranged for “guests of the ANC “and not for the defense minister.
“The arrival was originally arranged for a seven-man delegation. I don’t think anyone expected the minister to arrive alone.
“I think the president of the ANC knew about the trip.”
“Mapisa-Nqakula knows very well that it will take a hit in the next cabinet shakeup and that will further strain their relationship,” he said.
Efforts to obtain comment from Mapisa-Nqakula failed as her spokesperson, Joy Nonzukiso-Peter, did not respond to written questions. Others who ignored the written questions were Pule Mabe, spokesman for the ANC and Tyrone Seale, acting spokesman for Ramaphosa.
The star
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