Ramaphosa says Presidency has nothing to hide as calls mount for more oversight
Replying to the debate on his budget vote on Wednesday afternoon, Ramaphosa has encouraged Parliament to find a suitable way to keep better watch on the programmes and activities of the Presidency.
President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to the debate on his Presidency budget on 24 July 2024. Picture: @PresidencyZA/X
CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the Presidency had nothing to hide amid mounting calls for Parliament to exercise more effective oversight over it.
Replying to the debate on his budget vote on Wednesday afternoon, Ramaphosa has encouraged Parliament to find a suitable way to keep better watch on the programmes and activities of the Presidency.
This was the president’s third address to the House in under a week since the opening of Parliament.
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Despite a recommendation from the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture and an appeal made as far back as the Presidency of Thabo Mbeki, Parliament is still grappling with a suitable way to exercise oversight over the Presidency.
The African National Congress (ANC) had until now used its majority to block a dedicated committee on the Presidency, arguing sufficient budgetary oversight through a recently established committee on planning, monitoring and evaluation.
On Wednesday, Ramaphosa said he was not against oversight over his presidency.
"I’ve said to my colleagues, we’ve nothing to hide. There’s just nothing that we can say we want to hide, and we are accountable to this Parliament."
Ramaphosa said it would have been preferable that the previous Parliament had done benchmarking on this matter in at least four or five African countries and not only in the UK, where it conducted a study tour a year ago.
Opposition parties believe the Phala Phala matter would not have gone undetected for as long as it did, if there was better oversight over the Presidency.