Phala Phala saga creeps up in Parliament during Ramaphosa's salary increase debate
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have both rejected a recommendation from the Public Service Commission to raise the president's annual salary to R3.3 million.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the Cape Town Press Club on 15 February 2024. Picture: X/PresidencyZA
CAPE TOWN - The Phala Phala Farm saga has once again been raised in Parliament during a debate on a motion for President Cyril Ramaphosa to receive a salary increase - for the first time since his Presidency began in 2018.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have both rejected a recommendation from the Public Service Commission to raise his annual salary to R3.3 million.
While the MK Party says it’s an insult to the struggling masses, the EFF says a billionaire like Ramaphosa should turn down the salary bump.
African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli says a below-inflation increase of 2.5% on a recommendation from an independent body makes it reasonable for the ANC to propose a salary hike.
But the MK Party’s Mzwanele Manyi says it raises concerns about ethical leadership - saying the suggestion is both insane and immoral.
"Hasn’t he already been compensated by the yet to be accounted for Phala Phala Dollars under the mattresses and sofas or the sale of the buffalo that were allegedly sold, but never collected?"
The EFF’s Natasha Ntlangwini says Ramaphosa doesn’t deserve more money when public servants have not received an inflation-related increase, and social grants have also remained stagnant.
"This is the same man who presented to us that he is a billionaire and is having his own money. A billionaire that stuffs his cushions, and couches and beds and pillows full of us dollars that he didn’t declare."
Despite the vehement objections from the progressive caucus to Ramaphosa's salary - it’s still R1 million rand less than that earned by the secretary to Parliament.
Government of National Uunity parties did not object to the motion while ActionSA and the African Christian Democratic Party ( ACDP) cautiously agreed - saying it had to be met with commensurate delivery from the first citizen.
Last week, the Constitutional Court heard arguments from the EFF over whether Parliament behaved irrationally when it rejected a Section 89 independent panel report that suggested Ramaphosa has a case to answer for in connection with the storage and theft of US Dollars from his Limpopo farm in 2020.