Ramaphosa rejects resignation calls, vows court fight over Section 89 report

By Johnathan Paoli

President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will not resign over the Phala Phala farm scandal and will instead challenge the Section 89 independent panel report through a court review process.

Addressing the nation on Monday night, Ramaphosa said resigning would amount to abandoning his constitutional responsibilities and surrendering to what he called “forces against renewal”.

“I therefore respectfully want to make it clear that I will not resign. To do so would be to pre-empt a process defined by the Constitution. To do so would be to give credence to a panel report that unfortunately has grave flaws,” Tamaphosa told the nation.

“To do so would be to abdicate the responsibility that I assumed when I became President of the Republic. To resign now would be to give in to those who seek to reverse the renewal of our society, the rebuilding of our institutions and the prosecution