‘Utter rubbish': Deputy Minister Joe Phaahla refutes allegations of plotting to remove President Ramaphosa
Deputy Minister Joe Phaahla has dismissed claims that he is part of a plot to oust President Cyril Ramaphosa, calling the allegations “utter rubbish and pure hogwash.”
Image: Phando Jikelo/Independent Newspapers
Deputy Minister of Health and ANC NEC member Dr Joe Phaahla has dismissed as “utter rubbish and pure hogwash” allegations that he is part of a plot to unseat President Cyril Ramaphosa, after Sunday World newspaper named him among those allegedly involved.
In a strongly worded statement, Phaahla said: “I reject the claims that I am plotting to oust President Cyril Ramaphosa as utter rubbish and pure hogwash. In fact, I lack the adjectives to adequately describe their absurdity.”
He said the allegations were fabrications and “the work of desperate individuals attempting to drive a wedge between myself, as an NEC member and lifelong activist of the African National Congress for nearly five decades, and my President.”
Phaahla said what had been written was exactly the type of behaviour former ANC president OR Tambo warned about. “This is precisely what our late President OR Tambo warned us about — the wedge drivers who sow suspicion, division and mistrust within our ranks,” he said.
He added: “The people behind these allegations have a destructive agenda aimed at undermining the unity of the ANC, dividing the National Executive Committee (NEC), and casting unwarranted doubt on my integrity among the members of the organisation to which I have devoted my entire adult life.”
Phaahla said he “reject[ed] these malicious, outrageous, and fallacious accusations that are devoid of any truth with the contempt they deserve.”
He also stated “unequivocally” that he had “consistently supported and continues to support President Ramaphosa”, adding: “My confidence in the President is rooted in the values I know him to have, and the renewal agenda he continues to champion in the ANC and in government.”
Phaahla said that over the years he had "stood firmly behind the collective decisions of our movement” and had “worked tirelessly to advance the programme of unity, stability and transformation under his leadership.”
He said his commitment to supporting Ramaphosa was “based on my long experience and belief in the ANC’s mission to serve the people of South Africa.”
“Any suggestion to the contrary,” he said, “is not only false, but an affront to the truth, to the movement I serve, and to the leadership collective of the ANC.”
Sunday World had named Phaahla alongside Deputy Minister Mondli Gungubele in what it described as a plot to remove Ramaphosa.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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