DA denies distancing itself from Public Protector’s investigation into Ramaphosa
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has sought to clarify their stance in Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s investigation into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s alleged money laundering.
Earlier, media reports suggested that DA leader Mmusi Maimane had distanced himself from investigating money laundering allegations against Ramaphosa. But the DA has now clarified the matter, denying this.
The party says “at no stage” have they sought to distance themselves from the investigation.
“Rather, we have been explicitly clear in our call for the matter to be finalized, and for Parliament to establish an Ad HocCommittee to consider the report and its findings – as it did with the Nkandla report,” reads the statement in part.
We eagerly await the release of the final report, which must be considered by Parliament.
An Ad Hoc Committee must be established. This will leave no room for further speculation & will allow the public & Parliament to hold the President to account.https://t.co/zUQmQxTg8M
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) June 24, 2019
Following the media reports, Maimane has taken to twitter to emphasise his party’s position on the matter.
He says they are committed to holding Ramaphosa to account for his deals with Bosasa.
“The Public Protector must simply release the report on the President. This report must give clarity about whether or not the president misled Parliament; whether the donation given to him was money to benefit his son’s company and ultimately all of these allegations on money laundering are well within the Public Protector’s right to expand her investigation. The DA itself is only seeking to get clarity on her report.”
We remain committed to holding President Ramaphosa to account for Bosasa dealings, including possible money laundering.
We call for the matter to be finalized, and for Parliament to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to consider the report and its findings.https://t.co/VdVJFWCKxE
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) June 24, 2019
In 2017, ahead of the African National Congress (ANC) National Elective Conference, facilities management company Bosasa donated R500 000 to Ramaphosa’s party presidential campaign.
However, Ramaphosa subsequently told Parliament that the embattled company had not made any donation.
Following earlier media reports, Mkhwebane says she’s taken aback by the latest developments.
Mkhwebane said she was shocked to learn through the media that both the DA and some of the CR17 campaign managers claim they never asked her to investigate allegations of money laundering following the donation by Bosasa.
She says she met on two occasions with DA Leader Mmusi Maimane, who emphasized that this must be investigated.
Mkhwebane says she’s concerned about how some media houses are handling this matter.