Parliament will not be involved in appointing Shaun Abrahams' replacement‚ says Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa has made it clear to MPs that he has no intention of involving parliament in the process of appointing the new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).
In a written reply to a parliamentary question from COPE leader Mosioua Lekota on Tuesday‚ Ramaphosa simply responded by stating that the Constitution was unambiguous on how the president should go filling the post.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has also previously weighed in on the matter‚ saying the national legislature needed to play a role in the appointment of the NDPP.
Buoyed by a Constitutional Court ruling earlier this year that found the appointment of former NDPP head Shaun Abrahams to be invalid‚ Maimane argued that it showed how the president could abuse his powers - and said the involvement of parliament could help prevent this.
But in his short reply to Lekota's question‚ Ramaphosa stated that the appointment of the NDPP head was purely his function and it had nothing to do with parliament.
"Section 179(1)(a) of the Constitution provides that the National Director of Public Prosecutions is appointed by the President‚ as head of the national executive. It is an executive appointment‚ constitutionally distinguished from those institutions whose members’ appointment involves Parliament‚” he wrote.
Turning to another question from Lekota - on whether the president intended to “give evidence” before the state capture commission of inquiry or encourage his cabinet ministers to do so - Ramaphosa said‚ “I will gladly oblige.”
“The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture is empowered to decide who should give evidence before it. If the Commission asks me to appear before it‚ I will gladly oblige.
“Any person‚ including members of Cabinet and senior government employees‚ who may have information that would assist the Commission in its work‚ is encouraged to make that information available to the Commission and‚ if necessary‚ to give evidence‚” he said.