South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing the most embarrassing period of his young presidency following leaked bank statements that revealed names of donors, as well as people who received money from his CR17 fundraising campaign, set up to help him become African National Congress (ANC) leader two years ago.
Two opposition MPs from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) whose names appeared in the bank statements widely shared on social media, resigned after admitting to receiving funds from the CR17 campaign.
In her resignation letter Tebogo Mokwela stated that she received two payments of 40,000 rand ($2,600; £2,150) each “for personal use”. Nkagisang Mokgosi said she had accepted the same sum of money, a decision that was “related to personal situations I had”.
The EFF’s deputy president tweeted out both statements:
The resignations of Commissars Tebogo Mokwele and Nkagisang Mokgosi from the @EFFSouthAfrica and @ParliamentofRSA represents superior levels of political discipline, i.e. accept objective and subjective wrongdoing and step aside for the sake of the organization. Accepted! pic.twitter.com/cpxbbLpslT
— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) August 19, 2019
President Rampahosa’s office has responded for the first time since the leaks at the weekend.
His spokesperson Khusela Diko said “if someone requested [money] for bereavement” it simply shows that the president is a caring and compassionate human being.
This week the president, who campaigned on a ticket of “clean government”, is expected to face opposition MPs in parliament in a question-and-answer session.
Opposition MPs are already rubbing their hands together with glee in anticipation.
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Source: bbc.com