W Cape ANC distances itself from a march calling for Ramaphosa to step aside

Cape Town - The ANC in the Western Cape has claimed that a group of people who staged an anti-Cyril Ramaphosa picket outside parliament on Tuesday had no ties to the party.

The party’s Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) convenor, Lerumo Kalako, told Weekend Argus, the crowd, which was reportedly calling for President Ramaphosa to step aside over the Phala Phala scandal, had been "rented."

"I was looking at their faces, trying to get a sense of who they are. There must be an individual who organised that thing and hired people; that is a rented crowd; it is not Western Cape ANC at all," Kalako said.

Meanwhile, ANC Western Cape spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said the march had not been approved by any structure in the province.

The picket reportedly took place despite the postponement of a sitting of the house where the Members of Parliament were meant to vote on whether to adopt the Independent Panel’s report that found that Ramaphosa may have a case to answer to for the robbery at this farm.

"We have noted that very few members of society, some wearing ANC regalia, marched to parliament to express their views.

"There is no structure of the ANC in the province that has approved or mandated any of its members to march to parliament," Mtsweni said.

He said the ANC in the Western Cape and the Dullar Omar region would launch an urgent investigation to establish if there were any ANC members in the crowd.

"The ANC, as a unitary structure, has taken a decision on the parliamentary processes currently under way, which gave a mandate to its Members of Parliament to vote against the adoption of the Section 89 panel report while the President takes the matter on review.

"The ANC in the province distances itself from that march, and despite any views to the contrary, we align ourselves fully with the decision of the NEC," Mtsweni said.

Weekend Argus