Ramaphosa asks NCOP to defer sitting to give him time to process Phala Phala report

President Cyril Ramaphosa will not appear before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for a scheduled question-and-answer session on Thursday.

NCOP chief whip Seiso Mohai informed delegates that the council had received a request from Ramaphosa to defer the session to give himself time to process the report of the section 89 committee on the Phala Phala saga.

The three-member independent panel appointment by parliament found that Ramaphosa had questions to answer in connection to the Phala Phala burglary that occurred at the president's farm in Bela Bela, Limpopo, in 2020, where about $4m was stolen.

“As you may be aware, the section 89 independent panel process has been unprecedented in the life of our constitutional democracy,” said Mohai.

“The recommendations of the independent panel and the implications thereof for the stability of the country require President Ramaphosa to take the time to carefully consider the contents of the report and the next course of action to be taken,” he said.

Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said NCOP chair Amos Masondo received correspondence from the presidency requesting deferment of his appearance before the council.

"The letter noted that the section 89 independent panel process has been unprecedented in the life of South Africa's constitutional democracy and that the recommendations of the panel and their implications for the stability of the country required that the president take the time to carefully consider the contents of the report and the next course of action to be taken," Mothapo said.

Ramaphosa was going to face questions on loadshedding, rural development and the development of township economies.

The session would also have been his last question session in parliament for the year.