SOUTH Africa’s major political parties have welcomed a decision by parliament’s programming committee to debate the Phala Phala panel’s report on December 06, 2022.
Parliament’s Programming Committee chaired by the National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula met on Thursday to finalise matters before going on recess in December.
Political parties in the committee such as IFP, EFF, and the ANC welcomed the decision to schedule the Phala Phala report for debate in the National Assembly on December 6.
The committee said the report will be published and made available to the public.
“I would like to welcome the 6th of December,” IFP Parliament chief whip Narend Singh said.
ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina also welcomed the 6th of December date for Section 89 Report to be debated in the house.
EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu welcomed the date but urged the Speaker of the National Assembly to prepare for any possible recommendations which may require MPs to make themselves available.
“It’s obviously not safe to just have the 6th as the only day. Let’s open the door for any possibilities that might arise,” said Shivambu.
The EFF also issued a statement welcoming what they considered “the decisive decision” by the Programming Committee of Parliament to convene a debate on the Phala Phala Report.
“It is without a shadow of doubt that the plan was to ensure that Ramaphosa heads into the elective conference of the ANC, where he seeks a second term without being exposed for his criminal activity on Phala Phala farm. Ideally those who are determined to cover-up the crimes of Phala Phala will not release any information regarding what happened on the farm until Ramaphosa has secured his political interest,” EFF said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Mapisa-Nqakula extended, on request, the independent panel’s deadline until 30 November, a decision which angered some political parties given that Parliament was set to receive the report on Thursday.
The panel chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo has to establish whether President Cyril Ramaphosa has a case to answer over the Phala Phala matter.
If the Ncobo panel finds that Ramaphosa has a case to answer, impeachment proceedings will follow which will eventually require two thirds of the 400 Members of Parliament to vote
–INSIDE POLITICS
