DA Leader Maimane submits urgent question to President Ramaphosa on “CR17” payments to at least four Cabinet Ministers

I have today written to the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Thandi Modise, requesting that an urgent oral question to the President be added to Thursday's Order Paper, in terms of Rule 141 of the National Assembly Rules.

When President Ramaphosa appears in Parliament to answer questions on tomorrow, I will look to ask him the following question:

Whether the appointments of Ms K P S Ntshavheni to the position of Minister of Small Business Development, Ms R T Siweya to the position of Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Mr F Mbalula to the position of Minister of Transport and Mr Z Kodwa to the position of Deputy Minister of State Security were informed in any way by the fact that both worked for, and received payment from his CR17 campaign?

This follows recent reports that the “CR17” campaign – set up to elect Cyril Ramaphosa as President of the ANC – made payments to at least four individuals who later become Ministers in Ramaphosa’s Executive.

The Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya, Minister of Small Business Development, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, and Deputy Minister of State Security, Zizi Kodwa, received a combined R7 million in payments from the “CR17” campaign – allegedly for work done to see Ramaphosa elected ANC president.

This raises great concern as to whether President Ramaphosa acted impartially and rationally when he appointed such individuals, and wasn’t repaying them for work done in the bid to get him elected.

In the matter of The President of the RSA v DA & others (664/17) [2018] ZASCA 79, the court was clear in its assertion that an executive decision must be rational and as such, the President must be able to supply rational reasons for the appointment of members of his Cabinet.

Therefore, the President needs to use his first oral question session for the 6th Parliament to clarify to the people of South Africa and unequivocally state whether these individuals’ payment for work on his campaign is related – in any way whatsoever - to his decision to appointment them as ministers.

Statement issued by DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, 21 August 2019