Acting Public Protecter must disclose if President Ramaphosa responded to the 31 questions regarding Phala Phala farm

19 July 2022

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) calls on Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka to disclose to the public whether Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to the 31 questions posed to him by the office on the 8th of June 2022. Following the damning allegations by Arthur Fraser, which implicate Ramaphosa in money laundering, kidnapping and concealing of a crime through the use of state-resources, the Office of the Public Protector received a complaint against the President.

The complaint was in terms of him breaching the Executive Members' Ethics Act. Ramaphosa proceeded to suspend the Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane a day later, and Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka assumed the role in an acting capacity. Gcaleka, who has a history of connections with politicians from the ruling party, namely being an advisor to former Minister Malusi Gigaba, granted an irrational extension for Ramaphosa to respond, which was until the 18th of July 2022.

Today is the 19th of July 2022, and there has been no transparency by the Office of the Public Protector or the Presidency as to whether the deadline for compliance has been met. As things stand, the people of South Africa are left to believe that Ramaphosa has not responded to the 31 questions, meaning that the President of South Africa is in breach of the Public Protector Act and in contempt of the Office of the Public Protector.

The EFF wishes to remind South Africans that the Public Protector is a Chapter 9 institution, which is established by the Constitution. Ramaphosa's lack of compliance with the directives of this office, makes him a constitutional delinquent. The EFF will write a letter to the Office of the Public Protector demanding that she confirm or deny whether Ramaphosa has responded to the questions posed to him. If Ramaphosa has not complied with the directives of the Public Protector, the EFF will go to court to compel him to do so. We will do so in the same way we did with his predecessor, with regards to the failure of Jacob Zuma to implement the recommendations of the Public Protector's report on Nkandla.

Ramaphosa must be compelled to answer the questions of the Public Protector regarding Phala Phala Farm.

All South Africans are expected to comply with the directives of Public Protector, and Ramaphosa is not exempt from that.

The lack of appetite by Kholeka Gcaleka to pursue accountability from the President, confirms that she was placed in the role to capture that office and protect Ramaphosa.

Her efforts of aiding this delay must be noted as part of a broader attempt to shield Ramaphosa from scrutiny.

Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 19 July 2022