GOOD Speech by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
22 March 2023
Note to editor: This is the speech that was delivered by GOOD Secretary-General and Member of Parliament, Brett Herron, during today’s debate on the motion for the establishment of an ad hoc committee to investigate the Phala Phala farm matter.
Madam Speaker,
The problem with the proposal from the Chief Whip of the Opposition is that nothing has changed since we debated this proposal six months ago and nothing has changed since the report by the Independent Panel was rejected by this house 3 months ago.
The only sensible proposal was the GOOD proposal which the Speaker would not, or could not, allow because the Rules only allowed for us to accept or reject the recommendations of the Independent Panel that we proceed in terms of Sec 89 of the Constitution.
You will recall Madam Speaker that we proposed that the panel’s report be accepted but that the work of a Sec 89 Committee does not commence until such time as the President has concluded his right to review the panel’s report.
When that proposal was rejected the choice became politically opportunistic, and binary, with no room for the interests of justice to be served.
We are back here because the Democratic Alliance received some information that SARS is unable to find any record that the foreign currency which was brought into the country, and then allegedly stolen, was declared.
Of course the President was not the one who allegedly brought the foreign exchange into the country.
The DA’s excitement should have been short-lived.
Because a few days later SARS issued a statement confirming that a tax compliance statement issued by SARS indicates that the $4 million sale of the game at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in 2020 has been declared.
But the DA could not be contained by the inconvenience of the facts.
Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that Parliament was forced to choose between a “yes” and a “no” response to the Independent Panel’s recommendations.
But that choice cannot be circumvented by the proposal to establish an ad hoc committee to conduct parallel investigations to the multitude of investigations that are already under way by the competent authorities.
The matter may well return to Parliament, for a new decision, should the Hawks, the Public Protector, the SA Reserve Bank or SARS conclude that the President should be charged with a crime or has acted illegally or in breach of the Executive Ethics Act.
That hasn’t happened yet and we should allow the authorities to conclude their investigations without fear, favour or this opportunistic political interference.
Media Enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 0825183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za