Ramaphosa reaffirms commitment to fighting corruption

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday reaffirmed his determination and commitment to fighting all forms of corruption and malfeasance.

“To this end, no person regardless of the position they hold is above law,” Ramaphosa said.

He was responding to allegations by Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who accuses the president of violating the Executive Ethics Code.

Earlier on Friday, Mkhwebane released the findings of her investigation into a donation to the president’s election campaign fund.

Bosasa, also known as African Global Operations, reportedly made the donation to Ramaphosa’s campaign team in 2017 to fund his African National Congress (ANC) presidential campaign.
Ramaphosa was deputy president then.

Mkhwebane found that Ramaphosa deliberately misled Parliament in November 2018 when he said in the House that he did not know the details of the donation his campaign office received.

Ramaphosa said at that time that the donation was in fact payment for services to his son’s company.

Mkhwebane rejected Ramaphosa’s claim, saying the president is duty-bound to declare funds deposited into his campaign account because he personally benefited from the Bosasa donation.

Mkhwebane said Ramaphosa ought to have declared all the funds received for his campaign as some of the money collected through Ramaphosa’s campaign account was transferred to the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation account.

Ramaphosa’s explanation that he did not know about the donors and donations is false, Mkhwebane said.

In response to Mkhwebane’s findings, Ramaphosa said he will study the Public Protector’s report and make a decision on any further action.

The president reaffirmed his respect for the Office of the Public Protector and his appreciation of the essential role it needs to play in promoting accountability and advancing the interests of the South African people.