Public Protector clears Ramaphosa of state resource abuse allegations

Public Protector Advocate Khokeka Gcaleka concluded that President Cyril Ramaphosa did not abuse state resources during a campaign event in 2022 to benefit the African National Congress (ANC). 

This finding follows a complaint by Elias Muller in October 2022, who alleged that Ramaphosa had violated the Constitution by misusing state resources for party political gain.

Muller’s complaint centred explicitly on an incident during the ANC's Letsema campaign in the Northern Cape, where Ramaphosa attended the handover of a Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) house to Ouma Martha Louw in Donkerhoek. 

On September 30, 2022, officials from the Northern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) and the municipality presented Louw with her new home.

Following this, Ramaphosa visited Louw on October 1, 2022, to celebrate her 82nd birthday, which Muller contended was a misuse of state resources for a political event.

In her report released on Friday, Gcaleka said that Louw had applied for a housing subsidy on June 26, 2000, and confirmed that the house was officially handed over to her by government officials, with no evidence that Ramaphosa was present at the ceremony. 

“The Public Protector established that the President visited Ms. Louw on October 1, 2022, a day after the house was handed over to her.” 

She stated that the Presidency confirmed that the visit was purely to wish Louw well on her birthday.

Gcaleka further addressed the potential conflict of interest raised by Muller’s complaint, stating, 

“If Ramaphosa's political affiliation to the ANC is akin to his private interests, and the handing over of the RDP house to Louw during the ANC Letsema campaign exposed him to a risk of conflict of interest, an inquiry would be necessary to determine whether it violated section 96(2)(b) of the Constitution.” 

However, she cautioned that such an inquiry would be unnecessary as it was already established that Ramaphosa did not hand over the house himself.

In his complaint, Muller argued that Ramaphosa conducted a private ANC activity rather than state business during the handover. 

He expressed concerns that it was “irregular and unjustifiable for an RDP house built with taxpayer money to be issued by a political party instead of the government,” claiming that the President was abusing his powers during the ANC's Letsema campaigns.

Gcaleka's findings ultimately cleared President Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing regarding the complaint, reinforcing the distinction between his official responsibilities and party activities.

IOL Politics 

thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za