South Africa: Parliamentary report paves way for debate on impeachment of Ramaphosa
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during his speech to parliamentarians on February 10, 2022 at Cape Town City Hall.
© AP/Nic Bothma
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
A parliamentary commission, responsible for examining a scandal affecting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, ruled in its report submitted on Wednesday that there was enough material to debate in Parliament on his possible dismissal.
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An independent commission appointed in September by Parliament submitted its report to the president of the institution on Wednesday.
The members of this commission were responsible for determining whether there is evidence that the head of state, Cyril Ramaphosa, violated the Constitution or the law.
The leader has been entangled for several months in
a scandal linked to the burglary of his agricultural property in Phala Phala
, in 2020. During this burglary, wads of cash were found hidden in furniture.
The South African president is accused of having concealed the incident from the police or the tax authorities.
The South African Parliament is due to consider the findings of this three-volume report next Tuesday.
These could theoretically lead to a vote for the dismissal of the Head of State, but this procedure has, in reality, little chance of succeeding since it requires a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, where Cyril Ramaphosa's party, the ANC, holds a comfortable majority.
Growing disenchantment with the ANC
The delivery of this report nevertheless comes two weeks before an important meeting of the ruling party, scheduled between 16 and 20 December.
This meeting should make it possible to designate the next leader of the party.
Whoever emerges victorious will probably become the next head of state after the general elections of 2024. Provided of course that the ANC wins the election.
Nelson Mandela's party is today confronted with growing disenchantment.
It fell last year for the first time in its history below 50%, during local elections.
Successor to Jacob Zuma, forced to resign in 2018
after a series of scandals, Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected all the charges against him in this case.
He is nonetheless expected on the front line of the fight against corruption, a scourge he has promised to eradicate.
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South Africa
Cyril Ramaphosa