BREAKING | Phala Phala: As pressure mounts, Ramaphosa tells allies that resigning is not out of the question

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s closest allies are meeting at his Tuynhuys office in Cape Town, after he told them he was open to resigning.

Top party leaders have been scrambling to figure out what the Section 89 panel report means for Ramaphosa in the immediate aftermath.

“He said he is ready to leave,” a Cabinet minister said on Thursday morning.

Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution and anti-corruption laws in his Phala Phala dealings, according to the panel.

Ramaphosa is said to have told those close to him that the panel’s report, led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, was legally flawed, but he is unlikely to fight it at the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Thursday evening.

On Thursday, Ramaphosa met with his advisors and allies at his office in Cape Town.

According to two top ANC leaders, Ramaphosa will decide on a course of action before the NEC meeting.

“He will not wait for the NEC to determine his fate,” the source said.

Ramaphosa is under intense scrutiny following the release of the independent panel’s report, which made damning findings against him in relation to the theft of $580 000 (R10 million) from his Limpopo game farm, Phala Phala.

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele briefed the media in Parliament while he was locked in meetings.

Ramaphosa, according to Gungubele, is doing well.

“The president appreciates the situation. But he needs to be informed by many things. You are dealing with a president here who is dealing with matters that happened at his house. It is a unique development. The president has subjected himself to the processes. He is dealing with corruption and he has been leading in that sense.

“It’s not easy to just take a decision. It’s also just not about you. Let’s wait for the president’s informed decision. He has a history of doing and he is quite an intelligent president,” Gungubele said.

Ramaphosa is expected to make an announcement soon, according to him.

The independent panel, led by Ngcobo and appointed by Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, reached damning conclusions about Ramaphosa in relation to the farm theft.

He was unable to persuade the panel that he had acted in accordance with the law and the Constitution following the burglary and theft, and he now faces an impeachment investigation by lawmakers.

The four charges include three instances in which Ramaphosa violated the Constitution by continuing to work for pay outside of his duties as a Cabinet member and acting inconsistently with his office by directing his head of security, Major General Wally Rhoode, to investigate the matter.

On Tuesday, MPs will vote on whether or not to accept the report.