CAPE TOWN - Parliament launches its inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s alleged Constitutional breach on Monday.
Thirty-one MPs, appointed to the Section 89 Impeachment Committee, will meet for the first time to elect a chairperson and chart a way forward.
Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court found Parliament’s 2022 rejection of the Phala Phala Section 89 Report unconstitutional.
It also slammed the National Assembly for stifling meaningful scrutiny of impeachment motions.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa is challenging the Phala Phala Independent Panel report in the Western Cape High Court, arguing its findings relied on hearsay and ignored the law.
A committee chairperson must be elected within a set time frame once members are announced.
BOSA leader, Mmusi Maimane, said the chairperson needs to at least have a few skills and attributes to them.
READ | Phala Phala scandal | High profile MPs named to serve in impeachment committee
"The ability to lead a multi-party delegation, it has to be a member who comes from the opposition. Preferably someone who is not in the GNU. (This is to) ultimately to ensure that the process can survive legal scrutiny and ensure that it gets to the truth without prejudging the truth.
"Because one of the mistakes is that you can have others who come into the meeting thinking the President is already guilty and there are others who will defend the President at all costs,” Maimane said.
ACDP's Steve Swart said: "It is a pity that it took the Constitutional Court to order us to engage in the inquiry. We’re looking forward to engaging in the inquiry into the panel’s report, and we are obviously aware that President Ramaphosa has brought a review application. But in our view, until there is an interdict against this, Parliament should continue its work.”
George Michalakis said they welcome the fact that Parliament seems to be moving ahead with this process and is doing its job.
Secretary of Parliament, Xolile George, said Parliament respects the rule of law and will carry out this task to the letter.
“Parliament is the hallmark of accountability, it’s the hallmark of transparency because it represents the people. So when decisions have been taken on review, as we have seen regarding the Section 89 report of 2022, the Constitutional Court has now directed that this is the process you must follow, not the process you have followed, and we will do exactly that.”
Along with electing a chairperson, MPs will also set out their meetings schedule and clarify how the inquiry will handle evidence.