ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe has described opposition parties’ push for a vote of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa as a sign of “desperation,” adding that the governing party remains united behind the president.
Speaking in a television interview hours before Ramaphosa’s scheduled national address, Mantashe said he does not know what the president will discuss but affirmed that Ramaphosa has every right to address the nation on the Phala Phala process.
The ANC’s top seven officials met earlier in the day, and Mantashe described the president’s demeanor as “relaxed,” “calm,” and ready to go through the process. He said Ramaphosa will not take shortcuts or resign and walk away.
“All that people are desperate to see is the backside of the president,” Mantashe said. “We say to the president, don’t make it easy for them. Let them work for it and win it in the field.”
Mantashe confirmed that the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) will hold a special meeting in Cape Town tomorrow to discuss the Constitutional Court judgment regarding the Phala Phala matter. He said the outcome of that meeting will determine the journey ahead.
Regarding the impeachment process, Mantashe clarified that no judgment has confirmed an impeachment will take place. A committee will first review the report to determine if the matter is impeachable before any impeachment committee is established. “The court has no jurisdiction over that,” he said.
On the merits of the case against Ramaphosa, Mantashe argued: “Nobody claims that the president stole money from the state. The only offense he has committed is to have dollars in his farm that have not been declared.”
When pressed on why the president did not declare the foreign currency, Mantashe declined to discuss the merits, citing ongoing legal processes. He drew a comparison to his own farming activities, saying he sells cattle and sheep for cash at his rural farm, and that “is not money laundering.”
Responding to criticism from SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila, who has called for Ramaphosa’s impeachment, Mantashe said: “I have not had any central committee that has met since the judgment. I discount his views as his views, not as a structural view of the party.”
Mantashe also addressed comments from DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, saying he never spoke to him directly. Regarding Hill-Lewis’s stated ambitions to become president, Mantashe said: “The ambitions of individuals belong to them.”
On the ANC caucus voting along party lines, Mantashe was unapologetic: “Politics is about parties taking decisions, and if you have numbers you use your numbers to suit your objective.”
He rejected claims the ANC has abused its parliamentary majority, saying: “There’s nothing wrong with the ANC using its numbers to take a proper decision.”
Mantashe also revealed that during a previous crisis in 2020, Ramaphosa had wanted to resign. “He wanted to resign. That was one of the options,” Mantashe said, adding that he advised the president to “weigh the options and take a decision.” Resignation, he said, would have been “the most devastating decision for the ANC.”
He noted that even if the president resigned, the impeachment process would continue, making resignation effectively pointless.
Mantashe expressed confidence that the ANC would remain united throughout the process, dismissing opposition hopes of a divided ANC. “They’re going to find an ANC that is united on every part of the journey,” he said.