Deputy President Paul Mashatile has called on political parties to accept the findings of the South African Reserve Bank into Phala Phala and those of the Public Protector and the South African Revenue Service.
Mashatile said these institutions were established by laws of Parliament, and they conducted their investigations without fear or favour.
He said once these institutions were established, they were given the power to operate.
He said parliament had initially rejected the report of the panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, that Ramaphosa has a case to answer on Phala Phala.
The SARB, Sars and the public protector were also investigating the Phala Phala matter.
SARB has come under fire over its findings that Ramaphosa was not entitled to the money on the farm. However, it said there was no violation of the exchange controls.
Political parties have applied for access to the report. They have also threatened to take it on review.
The public protector’s report, which cleared Ramaphosa of wrongdoing, is also taken on judicial review.
Mashatile, who was answering questions in the National Council of Provinces on Thursday, said parties must accept the findings of these institutions.
"Once you appoint institutions, you give them powers, and they operate independently. I don’t think it’s fair to come back and say we don’t like your findings. What about if they said the president is wrong, you were going to be happy. You were going to say ‘Viva public protector.’ That is where the problem starts. These are independent institutions. Let’s allow them to do their work. They didn’t consult the ANC; they didn’t consult the president. They did their work, and they are now saying they are done; here are the results,"’ said Mashatile.
He said parties must not use their perceptions on the findings of the SARB, Sars, and the public protector.
All three bodies dealt with the facts before them and came to a conclusion.
This is the conclusion that all parties must accept, even if they disagree with them.
"We have appointed institutions; we must respect them when they come with findings. We accept the findings of the public protector, SARB, and the Reserve Bank. We accept all of them because they did it with integrity. They were transparent, and they investigated," said Mashatile.
Mashatile said when law enforcement agencies were investigating this matter, they must also be given space to do their work.
Political parties should wait for any investigations conducted on either Ramaphosa or any official to be finalised before people can pronounce.
But the probes by the public protector, SARB, and Sars were beyond reproach.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics