Deputy President Paul Mashatile has dismissed opposition parties’ accusations that the majority ANC was shielding his boss, President Cyril Ramaphosa, from accountability in the Phala Phala saga despite ANC MPs twice voting down proposals to establish inquiries into what happened at Ramaphosa’s game farm.
Mashatile was answering MPs' questions in the National Assembly on Thursday.
He said there were already multipronged investigations by a number of agencies, including the public protector, on the matter and that MPs should await their outcomes before interrogating the president.
EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi asked what Mashatile believed would be the long-term effect of the ANC’s use of its majority to “circumvent parliamentary accountability”.
She said that, just as the ANC used its majority to shield then-president Jacob Zuma in the past, it was doing the same with Ramaphosa despite findings by the Zondo commission that parliament was complicit in state capture in its failure to hold the executive to account.
“We see this tendency again where your party uses its majority to try to bury the allegations of money-laundering that took place at Phala Phala,” said Mkhaliphi. “Do you support that a mere majority can undermine the findings of an independent panel led by a former chief justice?” she asked.
Mashatile responded: “You’ve got it wrong. We are not shielding the president. The president has expressed his commitment to co-operate fully with all investigations. There is no shielding.
“I think sometimes there is a zeal to find the president guilty without going through due processes. It’s not correct. We are a democracy, we have institutions that we have set up [to be] independent. Nobody is interfering with them,” said Mashatile.
He called on MPs to be patient and allow the institutions to do their work properly, saying Ramaphosa was co-operating with them and not interfering. “I can assure you the institutions are doing their work without fear or favour,” he said.
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube asked about parliament’s constitutional obligation to hold the executive to account, saying every attempt to have parliament conduct its constitutional obligations had been blocked by the ANC, which rendered parliament toothless because of the ANC’s majority and commitment to shield Ramaphosa.
“That’s how democracy works, the majority must have its way,” responded Mashatile. “When the ANC believes its course is correct, it will use its majority to push those decisions.
“Remember that winning positions and decisions are something you win out there in elections. When you campaign and you win, you already win here and if you lose there, you’ve already lost here. It’s simple, it’s democracy,” said Mashatile. “Democracy means majority rules.”
In December, the ANC majority voted against the establishment of an impeachment inquiry against Ramaphosa. This was despite an independent panel led by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo finding that Ramaphosa may have had an impeachable case to answer over the theft of dollars from his farm.
On Wednesday, the ANC voted against a DA motion to establish an ad hoc committee to further investigate what transpired on the farm and the response of state agencies to those events.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
'We are not shielding the president': Paul Mashatile on Phala Phala theft
Image: Puxley Makgatho
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has dismissed opposition parties’ accusations that the majority ANC was shielding his boss, President Cyril Ramaphosa, from accountability in the Phala Phala saga despite ANC MPs twice voting down proposals to establish inquiries into what happened at Ramaphosa’s game farm.
Mashatile was answering MPs' questions in the National Assembly on Thursday.
He said there were already multipronged investigations by a number of agencies, including the public protector, on the matter and that MPs should await their outcomes before interrogating the president.
EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi asked what Mashatile believed would be the long-term effect of the ANC’s use of its majority to “circumvent parliamentary accountability”.
She said that, just as the ANC used its majority to shield then-president Jacob Zuma in the past, it was doing the same with Ramaphosa despite findings by the Zondo commission that parliament was complicit in state capture in its failure to hold the executive to account.
“We see this tendency again where your party uses its majority to try to bury the allegations of money-laundering that took place at Phala Phala,” said Mkhaliphi. “Do you support that a mere majority can undermine the findings of an independent panel led by a former chief justice?” she asked.
Mashatile responded: “You’ve got it wrong. We are not shielding the president. The president has expressed his commitment to co-operate fully with all investigations. There is no shielding.
“I think sometimes there is a zeal to find the president guilty without going through due processes. It’s not correct. We are a democracy, we have institutions that we have set up [to be] independent. Nobody is interfering with them,” said Mashatile.
He called on MPs to be patient and allow the institutions to do their work properly, saying Ramaphosa was co-operating with them and not interfering. “I can assure you the institutions are doing their work without fear or favour,” he said.
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube asked about parliament’s constitutional obligation to hold the executive to account, saying every attempt to have parliament conduct its constitutional obligations had been blocked by the ANC, which rendered parliament toothless because of the ANC’s majority and commitment to shield Ramaphosa.
“That’s how democracy works, the majority must have its way,” responded Mashatile. “When the ANC believes its course is correct, it will use its majority to push those decisions.
“Remember that winning positions and decisions are something you win out there in elections. When you campaign and you win, you already win here and if you lose there, you’ve already lost here. It’s simple, it’s democracy,” said Mashatile. “Democracy means majority rules.”
In December, the ANC majority voted against the establishment of an impeachment inquiry against Ramaphosa. This was despite an independent panel led by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo finding that Ramaphosa may have had an impeachable case to answer over the theft of dollars from his farm.
On Wednesday, the ANC voted against a DA motion to establish an ad hoc committee to further investigate what transpired on the farm and the response of state agencies to those events.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
READ MORE
WATCH LIVE | Paul Mashatile appears before parliament for first Q&A session
Fire in parliament delays Mashatile’s maiden Q&A
LISTEN | Paul Mashatile, the ex and threats
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos