Cape Town - Parliament has decided to discuss a date on which to consider the DA’s draft resolution for the establishment of an ad hoc committee that would look into all aspects regarding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm theft.
The official opposition made a request for the urgent establishment of an ad hoc committee to fully expose the truth behind the president’s alleged “dirty dollars”, after the SA Revenue Service was unable to find that Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa declared the cash he apparently brought into the country in December 2019.
It comes almost six months after the party tabled a similar request that was turned down after a vote.
On Thursday, the DA’s chief whip, Siviwe Gwarube, asked that their request be included in the parliamentary programme.
Gwarube said she had written to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, essentially making the case that the programme committee should decide on the scheduling of the draft resolution they planned bringing to the House.
“The draft resolution will establish an ad hoc committee that will look into Phala Phala. A debate was held last year, and the matter of the ad hoc was debated and voted on.
“Because it is a new parliamentary year, we are submitting a new draft resolution requesting the establishment of an ad hoc committee.
“This is spurred by new facts which have been revealed by Sars around the alleged complicity of the president into tax laws,” she said.
EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi said her party had sent Mapisa-Nqakula a letter on the same matter, but her response had not addressed the ad hoc committee.
“The point we were driving is that we need to establish this ad hoc committee. We have to start the process of removing the president,” Mkhaliphi said.
ANC MP Hope Papo said the motion should be brought.
UDM chief whip Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said his party supported the establishment of the committee.
After a long discussion about whether the matter should be debated first in the mini plenary, it was decided that it would be brought to the Assembly for a vote, and parties would be allowed to make declarations on it.
“This matter is going to be dealt with in a session where declarations by different parties will be allowed,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
Cape Times