The African Transformation Movement has welcomed the National Assembly Speaker’s decision to set up an impeachment committee for President Cyril Ramaphosa following a Constitutional Court ruling last Friday.
The committee stems from a court order that Parliament must allow the president to respond to evidence of foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala farm in 2020. ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona described the move as an important constitutional step but urged that the process be conducted with integrity, fairness and independence.
COSATU has rejected the committee’s makeup of 31 members drawn from all 18 parties. Parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said the allocation gives the African National Congress only nine seats instead of the 12 it is entitled to based on its 40 percent share of seats after the 2024 election.
During a heated question-and-answer session in the National Assembly on Thursday, opposition MPs from the MKP, EFF and ATM staged a walkout and labelled Ramaphosa a constitutional delinquent over the court ruling.