Minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele has asked South Africans to give the president space to study the Phala Phala report.

Gungubele was responding to media questions during a briefing following Wednesday night's cabinet meeting.

Asked how the president was doing, Gungubele said: “The president is fine.”

“In his statement and by his own words, the president said he is studying the report and our attitude is we should respect that exercise. These are not statements we take lightly.

“The call for the step aside is not coming for the first time. To us it’s not new. The president said he’s studying the findings and will make an announcement soon.

“My call is for South Africans to wait. Up to this point, the president has respected the laws of the country, we've not seen anything untoward in as far as the law is concerned.

“I'm ongoingly studying the report awaiting for the pronouncement. Those findings is a report that must be submitted to parliament for other processes... Prima facie is at face value meaning... Prima Facie is not a finding of anything but could lead to something,” Gungubele said.

The report found that Ramaphosa had a case to answer on the origins of the foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala farm in February 2020. The report found there was no evidence as to how the money came into the country and the exact amount of foreign currency stolen is yet to be disclosed.

The report also found inconsistencies between the president's version of events and that of the head of the presidential protection unit Wally Rhoode. 

Ramaphosa denied he was guilty of any allegations made against him.

“I have endeavoured, throughout my tenure as president, not only to abide by my oath but to set an example of respect for the Constitution, for its institutions, for due process and the law. I categorically deny that I have violated this oath in any way, and I similarly deny that I am guilty of any of the allegations made against me,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.