The EFF has demanded the immediate constitution of the Section 89 impeachment committee, insisting no political party should obstruct Parliament from exercising its constitutional duty to hold the President accountable.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have condemned what they say is the ANC’s deliberate delay in constituting Parliament’s Section 89 impeachment committee, arguing that the move is aimed at shielding President Cyril Ramaphosa from accountability.
The party rejected reports suggesting that the ANC’s delay in appointing members to the committee stemmed from internal disagreements between secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli.
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said the narrative being advanced was “not only dishonest but appears to be a deliberate political smokescreen designed to conceal the ANC’s intentional obstruction of Parliament’s constitutional obligations”.
“The real issue is not ANC infighting. The real issue is that the ANC is refusing to deploy members to the impeachment committee because it seeks to delay and frustrate the work of the committee itself,” Thambo said.
The EFF argued that the committee arose from a Constitutional Court ruling that directed Parliament to properly implement Section 89 of the Constitution following what it termed Parliament’s unlawful handling of the Phala Phala matter.
According to the party, the National Assembly rules required Speaker Thoko Didiza to establish an impeachment committee that reflected party representation in Parliament before the inquiry process could begin.
“By withholding its nominees, the ANC is deliberately undermining the implementation of Section 89 and frustrating the lawful functioning of Parliament.
''The ANC knows fully well that without the formal constitution of the committee, its work cannot effectively begin,” Thambo said.
The EFF also raised concerns over reports that Didiza had recently met with ANC leaders and legal representatives who had previously defended Ramaphosa in Constitutional Court proceedings relating to the Phala Phala matter.
“It is therefore impossible to ignore reports that Speaker Thoko Didiza recently met with ANC leaders and legal representatives who previously defended Cyril Ramaphosa in the Constitutional Court on the Phala Phala matter,” Thambo said.
“Any reasonable observer would conclude that the current delays are part of a broader political strategy to shield Ramaphosa from accountability and to weaken the impeachment process before it even begins.”
Thambo accused the ANC of repeatedly manipulating parliamentary processes when senior political figures faced scrutiny.
“The ANC is once again proving that it will manipulate Parliament, abuse procedure and manufacture confusion whenever accountability threatens those in power,” he said.
The party demanded the immediate constitution of the impeachment committee and insisted that no political organisation had the authority to obstruct Parliament’s constitutional responsibilities.
“The EFF demands the immediate constitution of the impeachment committee and reiterates that no political party, including the ANC, has the authority to obstruct Parliament from exercising its constitutional duty to hold the President accountable,” Thambo said.
The criticism comes after Didiza announced the establishment of a 31-member impeachment committee that will investigate Ramaphosa.
The committee consists of representatives from 16 political parties in the National Assembly, with the ANC allocated nine members, the DA five, the MK Party three, and the EFF two, while the remaining parties each have one representative.
Political parties had until last Friday to submit the names of their representatives.
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