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‘Double standards’: Ramaphosa may be vunerable over Bosasa payment

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President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Elmond Jiyane, GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Elmond Jiyane, GCIS

The Democratic Alliance has called for an independent inquiry into a R500 000 payment made to a fund that financed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s successful campaign for leader of the ANC last year.

Ramaphosa, who has staked his reputation on rooting out corruption, told lawmakers this month that the R500 000 payment by facilities management firm African Global Operations was for consulting work done by his son.

On Friday, Ramaphosa said he had inadvertently misled parliament and that the money was used to support his candidacy in the ANC leadership race which he narrowly won last December.

City Press reported in its print edition yesterday that Ramaphosa would offer to pay back the money that controversial company Bosasa paid to his campaign fund.

The disclosure is uncomfortable for Ramaphosa because he is trying to restore public confidence in the ANC ahead of a national election next year.

But it has also made Ramaphosa vulnerable to opposition within the ANC, particularly from supporters of former president Jacob Zuma, some of whom have lost their powerful positions in government since Ramaphosa became president.

Read: Ramaphosa will pay back the money

Ramaphosa’s close ally, Nhlanhla Nene, resigned as finance minister in October after admitting to lying over the number of times he had met the Gupta family, friends of former president Jacob Zuma who have been implicated in a far-reaching influence-peddling scandal but who deny wrongdoing.

Democratic Alliance party leader Mmusi Maimane said there should not be “double standards” over the payment to Ramaphosa’s campaign fund. He wants Ramaphosa to appoint an inquiry headed by a retired judge selected by the country’s chief justice.

“Ramaphosa has appointed independent inquiries to investigate corruption elsewhere. Now the same standard must apply to him and his family,” Maimane said.

Seeking to defuse the controversy surrounding the donation, Ramaphosa’s campaign team said over the weekend that it would return the money and that it would audit other donations to ensure that they were “above board”.

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko was not available to comment on whether the president would appoint the inquiry called for by Maimane.

The spokesperson for both African Global Operations and the ANC did not answer their phones.

But a Ramaphosa aide told City Press that there was nothing sinister about Ramaphosa disclosing that he had given Parliament wrong information about a donation from Bosasa.

“He was not aware that money had been donated to his campaign. He was far from the fundraising issues last year [during the ANC leadership race].”

The aide said he was aware that other politicians who had been caught in wrongdoing would now seek to exert similar pressure on Ramaphosa.

“The president is not worried about that. We are ready to refund that money.” – Reuters

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