Cape Town - The ATM is taking the fight over the Phala Phala saga to the Constitutional Court where it will oppose the bid by President Cyril Ramaphosa to review and set aside the report of the Section 89 panel.
On Wednesday, the party’s spokesperson Zama Ntshona said they have instructed their legal team to file an opposing affidavit to Ramaphosa's bid to have the Constitutional Court declare the panel’s report of the S89 Independent Panel invalid.
“The ATM will oppose this dishonest self-serving attempt to hide the truth and ask the Constitutional Court not to be part of this Phala Phala saga cover-up by rejecting this application,” Ntshona said.
The party’s leader Vuyo Zungula was cited as a fifth respondent in the application filed in the apex court on Monday.
Ntshona also said Ramaphosa was clearly revealing his true character of being a dishonest president who is only interested in saving himself and not the country.
“Mr Ramaphosa continues to demonstrate unwillingness to account, and at every given opportunity stifles the very process that is designed by the architects of this democracy to keep the president and his executive accountable,” he charged.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said his party was particularly concerned about the deliberate failure by Ramaphosa to cite parties represented in parliament in the review application as was the usual practice.
Only the UDM, ATM and EFF made submissions to the panel when MPs were asked to make submissions.
“The UDM will instruct its lawyers to demand that the president correct this situation, failing which, it will bring an application to intervene and require the president to pay punitive cost in respect thereof,” Holomisa said.
The ATM and UDM are likely to be joined by the EFF, which has indicated that it will defend the panel's report because the decision by the ANC to vote against it was showing the constitution the “middle finger”.
“We will defend it in court because when you take the panel report on review, you are not taking the panel to court because it has ceased to exist.
“Ramaphosa is taking Parliament to court,” EFF leader Julius Malema said.
During the special meeting of the programme committee, the EFF and ATM put pressure on National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to oppose the review application.
Mapisa-Nqakula had asked to be given an opportunity to obtain legal advice.
On Wednesday, parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said: "No written legal advice received yet."
Meanwhile, the ATM and UDM have made fresh calls for a secret ballot to be conducted when the panel’s report is put to a vote in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Both parties have written to Mapisa-Nqakula requesting that she reconsider her decision, this after the programme committee decided on an open roll-call vote by the MPs.
The voting method was previously welcomed by some, but there are fears that those within the ANC caucus that voted against the report may face reprisal.
Holomisa said MPs should be guided by their conscience and be protected from retaliation by party bosses.
“Given the unlawful retaliation by president Ramaphosa when he suspended the Public Protector the day after she served him with 31 questions regarding Phala Phala, the Speaker should have ordered the secret ballot,” he said.
In a separate letter, Zungula said his party had carefully considered Mapisa-Nqakula’s initial response to reject their request for a secret ballot, saying she had made her decision in good faith.
He noted that the ANC national executive took a decision to vote against the panel's report and that it was unthinkable for disciplined ANC members to step out of line from the party’s decision and vote according to their conscience.
“The ATM therefore requests the Speaker to review her position in line with the reality and polarisation that has been brought about by the ANC NEC directive and accede to a secret ballot so that the decision becomes rational, constitutional and in line with this new development," Zungula wrote.
Both Holomisa and Zungula gave Mapisa-Nqakula until Friday to respond to their requests.
Cape Times