Among the collateral damage of the 'Phala Phala Farmgate' is the stability of our democracy. Logic dictates or insists that the pursuit of interests, which are the currency of politics, trumps higher ideals, such as the commitment to in-party comradeship, the sanctity of solidarity, and the virtues of democracy. Pursuit of political power, and somewhat vengefulness, tend to drive decisions of those that this democracy entrusted with its secrets and edifices undergirding functionalities therein.
As such, the blurring of roles, the politics-administration interface contradictions, and the political factionalism-inside-the-administration challenges appear to be well suited for explaining the calculus behind the opening of a criminal case by a former head of the national intelligence. The question where does this bravery and courage to go head-on with the head of state by a former head of intelligence might be an indicator of how weak support the President enjoys from the security cluster, or how strong still is the former head of intelligence in the same space. It might also be daring incumbents in the security cluster that can be subordinated by the networks of loyalty to the former head of intelligence.
It is at the end of these games that we should start thinking about, and plotting the what-ifs for our country and its stability. Given the current political contestations for the Presidency and a winning slate of the ANC, the succession battles cannot be ignored as a factor that has influenced the opening of the case.
Section 86(1) of the Constitution provides that a President can be removed from office by the National Assembly if he has seriously violated the Constitution or the law, and/or committed a serious act of misconduct. In addition to that, the ANC has an equally career terminating provision for its leaders to voluntarily step aside if they are charged with any wrongdoing. There is also a societal expectation for leaders to simply resign from public office should they be in variance with the law.
Holding on to big amounts of cash, especially in foreign currency, with your person and not at an accredited financial institution, or with necessary permits, should attract some illegality that is punishable by law. In a country that has promulgated the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 38 of 2001 (FICA), to fight financial crime, such as money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing activities, hoarding large amounts of cash with yourself attracts charges in terms of this legislation and many other related. Further to this, it is expected of members of society to report any crime to law enforcement agencies within a reasonable time after the crime has been committed. This expectation helps society manage the possibility of jungle justice and kangaroo court judicial systems that are prevalent in contexts where the state has or is failing in its duties to curate its judicial authority within credible institutions.
What the Phala Phala Farm revelations have put into sharp focus and analysis is not only the political repercussions this might be carrying for the President, but to what extent is it violating the Constitution or the law as well as its misconduct nature to necessitate removal from office by the National Assembly in terms of section 86(1) of the constitution. Prudence should by now have already dictated to thinkers and the cognitive legal elite to be ready with a audited list of laws the Phala Phala Farm revelations may have violated from all dimensions. Whilst the dimension of politics provides cushions for society to contend with the deeper implications of these revelations, the consequences in law that these revelations carry for the individuals concerned, and the person of the Head of State may be greater than it meets the eye.
The time for realism to start taking center stage in respect of scenarios Phala Phala presents us with as a country has come. As we confront our new realities in law, we should do so by not throwing out the baby with the bath water. The invective directed at the political endgame pursued by those calling for the blood of the (potentially guilty) President misses an important distinction: his removal from office is both a democratic order destabilizer and an adopted anti-corruption policy position stabiliser. The pursuit of the latter should not mean the abandonment of the former. Notwithstanding, the pursuit of balancing both, even when their prescription can seem unsound, it retains value as a prism through which analysts can understand the motivations and actions of a potentially compromised criminal justice system in an inevitably complex political milieu.
As a society, Phala Phala calls for some higher level of sobriety, if its implications are taken to a logical conclusion. It practically means that we will have to contend with the reality of a DD Mabuza Presidency with all its in-Mpumalanga murmurings of not-so palatable, though not proven, baggage our society might be traumatized again with. Pragmatism would make us see this in the prism of feuding within the governing ANC, and yet this calls for some realism on the importance of our decisions as a society on the leaders we elevate, and the concomitant role of institutions of leadership we make these individuals be. Living a political life that ignores the possible with politicians has to date caused our country so much that we now need to be deliberate in how we structure our institutions and systems to be further resilient to the effects of political prerogatives that seem to be serious In traumatizing our potential as a global top 30 economy.
Unless the Phala Phala revelations are proven to be information peddling, of which case there will be no evidence, there is a reality of the President being found to have violated the law. This would mean all other processes will have to commence. Like the failed appointment of the inspector-general of intelligence which failed to get a two-thirds majority, the President might rely on the mercy and maturity of the National Assembly on how it deals with this matter for the country's sake. We have been here before as a democracy, and the power of the majority in the National Assembly was used for the sake of the ANC, maybe it's time it is considered for the country given alternatives in the horizon. This rendition holds brief for South Africa. CUT!!!
🤷🏿♂️A ndzo ti vulavulela
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