Maimane urges Mkhwebane to release Ramaphosa report by Wednesday

DA leader Mmusi Maimane is demanding that public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane releases her investigation report into President Cyril Ramaphosa and his alleged relations with controversial company Bosasa no later than Wednesday.

Maimane on Monday urged Mkhwebane to release the report in order to curb leaks and speculation following weekend news reports indicating that she made an adverse finding against the president.

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Maimane said the release of the report in question was six months overdue, the complaint having been raised late in 2018 by the DA and the EFF.

"Today I will write to the public protector, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, requesting that she release the full, unredacted report within the next 48 hours," said Maimane.

"Over six months ago, President Ramaphosa misled parliament about the R500,000 'donation' received from Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson - and the clear conflict of interest that exists between him, his son Andile Ramaphosa and Bosasa.

"On April 9 I met with advocate Mkhwebane to obtain an update on my complaint, who confirmed that while she had initially hoped the investigation would be finalised by February 2019, it became apparent during the process of investigating the matter that the nature and extent of the relationship between the Ramaphosas and Bosasa runs much deeper than initially thought."

Maimane said the Executive Members' Ethics Act stipulates that the public protector's office must release a report of this nature within 30 days of the receipt of the complaint. 

"The immediate release of this report will leave no room for further leaks and speculation and allow the public and parliament to hold President Ramaphosa to account for his actions," said Maimane.