AKHWELE attacked the Speaker of Parliament as political parties accused him of protecting President Cyril Ramaphosa, contrary to their request that he oppose the urgent request to stop the work of the committee considering his removal from office on Phala Phala.
The groups namely ATM, EFF and MKP have accused Mrs. Thoko Didiza of negligence and disregarding the court’s order as the parliamentary committee continues to work. On the other hand, the ANC in Parliament has commended Mrs. Didiza’s initiative to not get involved in this matter in order to remain neutral.
Mrs. Didiza said that she will not even oppose Ramaphosa’s urgent request to stop the work of this committee in Parliament, until his request to dismiss the report of the team led by Judge Sandile Ngcobo, which found that there may be laws that he broke by the discovery of US dollars in his farm in Limpopo, Phala Phala, is heard.
His request to dismiss Ngcobo’s report is expected to be heard in court in September this year.
The Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Moloto Mothapo, said that Mrs. Didiza decided to submit an affidavit that will help the court when it decides what to do in this matter.
“The Speaker has followed the order of the court that there should be a Parliamentary committee to consider the removal of the president from office. He will explain to the court what he has done since the decision of the Constitutional Court which gave him an order of what he must do as the Speaker of Parliament,” he said.
Last week, the chairman of the Ramaphosa investigation committee, Mr. Makashule Gana, said that if the Speaker does not support them in opposing Ramaphosa’s request, they will go ahead and do this.
The EFF, ATM and Ghana wrote to Mrs. Didiza, begging her to oppose Ramaphosa’s request in court as he rejected the request of these groups.
The ANC’s Speaker of Parliament, Mr Mdumiseni Ntuli, speaking to the SABC yesterday in Gauteng, said they will support Mrs Didiza in her move to not oppose Ramaphosa’s request.
“He should have remained neutral in this matter because if there are problems, he will have to intervene and solve them as the committees work under Parliament. I think he has taken the right decision in this matter. We will support him as the ANC Caucus in Parliament,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the Speaker must be a neutral person and Parliament should be independent.
“The Speaker must do his job properly. We will not interfere in his work. When the Speaker takes a decision, he takes it as a neutral and independent person,” he said while speaking to reporters yesterday after visiting the voter registration centers in Gauteng.
Gana said that they will only be prevented by the court from continuing the work of the committee as they are moving forward with it. It is expected that this committee will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the working method and discuss the appointment of those who will lead the evidence in this committee.