JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa will take the independent panel report on Phala Phala under review.
Last Friday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the National Assembly acted unlawfully when it voted against adopting a panel report that found that Ramaphosa had a prima facie case to answer in relation to the Phala Phala saga.
Addressing the nation on Monday night, Ramaphosa says that he will take the Phala Phala report under review.
"I have therefore decided to proceed to take the independent panel’s report on review on an expeditious basis," Ramaphosa said.
"I do so not out of disrespect for Parliament or its processes, but to affirm the need for such findings to be correct in law and in fact, especially where Parliament’s work would be based on and informed by a report I believe is flawed.
"I do so out of respect for the Constitutional Court judgment and the principles of judicial review that it reiterates and reinforces. I do so in fulfilment of the rights, obligations and processes contained in our Constitution."
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A defiant Ramaphosa says the Constitutional Court judgment on the Phala Phala matter does not require him to step down from office.
Ramaphosa stressed that the apex court made no findings against him personally and did not determine whether there was prima facie evidence of misconduct.
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He also noted that the court did not rule on whether the allegations against him justify impeachment or removal from office.
"Instead, the Constitutional Court judgment reinforces the principles, rights and processes underpinning our constitutional order. This explicitly includes the right to take the report of the independent panel on review," the president said.
"I therefore respectfully want to make it clear that I will not resign. To do so would be to pre-empt a process defined by the Constitution. To do so would be to give credence to a panel report that unfortunately has grave flaws.
"To do so would be to abdicate the responsibility that I assumed when I became President of the Republic. To resign now would be to give in to those who seek to reverse the renewal of our society, the rebuilding of our institutions and the prosecution of corruption."