Parliament takes first step towards Phala Phala probe
National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has appointed retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo to head up the Independent Panel that will investigate a motion relating to President Cyril Ramaphosa's conduct over the Phala Phala scandal.
Ngcobo, who was appointed as Chairperson of the Panel, will be joined by former Gauteng High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa and Associate Professor of Public Law at the University of Cape Town Richard Calland.
Masipa was the presiding officer in the murder trial of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius.
A spokesperson for Parliament, Moloto Mothapo, says Mapisa-Nqakula received 17 nominees recommended by political parties represented in the National Assembly for appointment on the Independent Panel.
"After careful consideration of the names at her disposal, assessment of their credentials against the provisions of the Rules, as well as a need to secure gender and demographic balance and having established their availability to serve on this Panel, the Speaker has appointed three fit and proper persons to discharge their assigned responsibilities," says Mothapo.
The date has not yet been announced when the Panel will start with its work.
Meanwhile, the EFF has rejected the appointments, saying it is irrational, biased, and completely disregards the consultative process with political parties represented in Parliament.
In a statement, the party says Professor Calland was seen taking Ramaphosa's side in the media during his analysis of factional battles within the ANC.
"The “Independent Panel” will undoubtedly be bias and will favour Ramaphosa, by defending his money laundering and use of state resources to conceal a crime as not an ethical breach of the Constitution. The most appalling of the appointments is that of Richard Calland, who is an Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town and an unrepentant advocate and admirer of Ramaphosa."
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