Lungani Zungu
President Cyril Ramaphosa will not be appearing in Parliament anytime soon to answer questions over the Phala Phala scandal.
Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said the president has a tight schedule. “His work schedule is just too tight and busy at the moment,” Gungubele said.
Among his official commitments, Ramaphosa will visit US President Joe Biden on 16 September to discuss opportunities in trade and investment, energy, climate and health.
Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula had written to Ramaphosa, asking him to return to Parliament to answer questions over the theft of what is alleged to be over $4 million at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo two years ago.
Opposition parties like the EFF and ATM accused Ramaphosa of dodging the Phala Phala question when he appeared in Parliament last week.
Ramaphosa met virtually with MPs in what turned out to be a rowdy session after a number of EFF MPs were ejected from Parliament.
Ramaphosa told the MPs that he had been advised against speaking about the Phala Phala scandal as investigations were ongoing.
The EFF pressed Mapisa-Nqakula to force the president to return this week, a request the speaker said was beyond her control, arguing that she does not control the diary of the president.
Ramaphosa’s next scheduled appearance in Parliament is on 29 September, according to Parliament’s website.
In June, former spy boss Arthur Fraser opened a criminal case against Ramaphosa over the theft at his farm.
He alleged that Ramaphosa was involved in defeating the ends of justice by allegedly concealing the theft at his farm.
Image source: @Bloomberg
