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The ANC is facing an uphill battle to control parliament’s impeachment inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa, as opposition parties intensify efforts to ensure one of their members chairs the committee that could determine the president’s political fate.
The Sunday Times has learnt that opposition parties spent the weekend locked in negotiations over who should lead the high-stakes committee, arguing that the ANC cannot be trusted to oversee a process involving its own president.
Their case is strengthened by the fact that the ANC does not command a majority on the 31-member committee.
The committee is expected to meet for the first time on Monday afternoon to elect a chair and begin proceedings stemming from the theft of more than $580,000 at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in 2020.
Sources familiar with the talks said opposition parties were determined to block ANC attempts to install one of its own MPs as chair.
The ANC has nine seats on the committee, while the remaining 22 seats are spread among various opposition parties. The DA has five members, the MK Party three, and the EFF two. No less than 11 smaller parties each have a single representative.
We don’t want another Nkandla movie — opposition leader
Complicating matters further for the ANC, its government of national unity (GNU) partner, the DA, is understood to have little appetite to chair the committee. DA leaders reportedly believe doing so could compromise the party’s ability to independently assess evidence and scrutinise proceedings.
The ANC is expected to nominate former deputy chief whip Doris Mpapane, who currently chairs parliament’s portfolio committee on the Presidency, for the position.
But opposition parties are preparing to resist the move, insisting that only a non-ANC chair can guarantee the credibility, impartiality and legal defensibility of the process.
“We are saying the process must be fair, transparent, [and] legally and publicly defensible. We don’t want another Nkandla movie,” said one opposition leader, referring to parliament’s handling of accountability processes involving former president Jacob Zuma.
The source argued that both the ANC and the DA are conflicted because ministers from both parties would automatically lose their positions should the inquiry produce adverse findings against Ramaphosa.
Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane confirmed that some opposition parties had approached him about chairing the committee.
“This committee will attract legal scrutiny and requires legal integrity. It must be chaired by someone from the opposition. People have approached me, and I [have] said I would be available,” Maimane said.
“We are not in the GNU, and we worked with other parties during the budget fallout.”
Rise Mzansi chief whip Makashule Gana said discussions began almost immediately after parties were informed on Thursday that the election of the committee’s chair would take place on Monday.
“At the moment, members of the committee are being assessed in terms of their capacity and ability to chair the process,” said Gana.
“We are never in doubt about people’s ability, but if your party only has one representative, your starting point cannot be to offer yourself. It must be a discussion among parties that have enough votes.”
He said several candidates were under consideration but suggested the ANC and possibly the DA were unlikely contenders.
African Transformation Movement parliamentary leader Vuyo Zungula, who is also cited as a respondent in Ramaphosa’s Western Cape High Court review application, said the principle was simple: an impeachment inquiry involving an ANC president should be chaired by the opposition.
“The independence and impartiality of the process are critical,” Zungula said.
“What has historically weakened parliament is the ANC majority’s failure to hold the executive accountable. In this process, no party in the GNU should chair the committee.”
Despite his involvement in related litigation, Zungula said he should not be excluded from consideration.
“There is interest from various parties, and everyone has some level of involvement one way or another,” he said. “My view has always been that as long as the chair comes from the opposition, the opposition can decide who that person should be.”
Zungula cautioned against opposition parties attempting to disqualify one another for political reasons.
“There is a lot of chatter about who should or should not chair the committee,” he said. “But the discussion should be principle-based. The focus should be on restoring parliament’s credibility and ensuring proper oversight, not eliminating potential candidates.”
The ANC and DA had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.
