The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has welcomed confirmation by National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza that she will begin the process of establishing an impeachment committee to investigate the Phala Phala report, with the federation’s first deputy president urging all parties to cooperate fully with the court-mandated process.
The development comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation at 8 p.m. following a Constitutional Court judgment that compelled the impeachment process to move forward.
In an interview, COSATU First Deputy President Mike Shingange said the trade union federation welcomed the president’s decision to speak publicly.
“It’s good that he is coming forth, not to hide or put his head in the sand thinking that this problem will disappear,” Shingange said. “When there are so many unanswered questions, he must step forward and speak. We welcome that.”
Shingange declined to speculate on the content of the president’s address, saying COSATU had not been given advance notice and that it would be unfair to comment before the president speaks.
Regarding the impeachment process itself, Shingange said COSATU welcomed the Constitutional Court judgment and noted that the Speaker had now begun implementing it.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t have gotten there had Parliament done its duty some years ago,” he said. “For us, what matters is that no one should try to stand in the way of implementing the court judgment, as prescribed by the judgment itself, the Constitution, and all the rules contained in the legislation.”
When asked about comments by Solly Mapaila, who reportedly called for an expedited impeachment process and raised concerns about state resources being depleted, Shingange said COSATU had not yet had time to reflect on those specific remarks.
“Those are matters COSATU has not yet had time to reflect on, and I would not want to comment on them,” he said. “I’m sure the leadership of the SACP can come forward and elaborate further on what they mean.”
However, Shingange pushed back against suggestions that Mapaila’s comments about the “hollowing out of the state” represented a new line of criticism.
“It’s not the first time those matters have been ventilated in meetings that we have been part of,” he said. “The only difference now is that they are being linked to the impeachment process. That’s maybe what is catching your attention.”
Shingange said the impeachment process should proceed as swiftly as possible.
“The sooner it happens, the better, so that South Africa can be put at ease and we don’t spend a lot of time speculating, being uncertain, and ultimately having people taking different postures because, unfortunately, it is also an election moment,” he said.
On the announcement of a special National Executive Committee meeting of the African National Congress scheduled for Cape Town, Shingange said the move was neither drastic nor dramatic.
“When developments like this happen, it becomes important and correct for an organisation to come together to reflect on the matter so that it can craft a clear message on how to react and respond,” he said. “The ANC is the organisation that currently leads the government, but at the same time the president has been asked to appear before a parliamentary committee. It is very important that, at a political level, the organisation reflects on this matter.”
Shingange also declined to comment on reports that the president had previously considered resigning during earlier stages of the Phala Phala matter.
“I don’t know about your trade as a journalist,” he said. “When we woke up this morning, we didn’t know the president was going to announce that he would address the nation, let alone what is contained in the speech.”
He added: “Let’s not trip over ourselves over things that are only an hour away from us finding out.”
