Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

12 May 2026

3-minute read

In a speech given on Monday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared he will not resign following the Constitutional Court ruling on May 8, 2026, which reignited the Phala-Phala scandal. The President stated that he has the right to take the Phala-Phala report of the panel chaired by Judge Ndlovu under review, where parliament has the right to hold impeachment hearings against him.

In an interview on Sabahul Muslim with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat, COSATU’s Matthew Parks says that “this is a very sensitive matter,” although the President can exercise his legal rights as a citizen.

COSATU sees no reason as to why the President should resign over “a matter that is not new,” but should rather allow parliament to do its job properly without cutting corners. This would require President Ramaphosa “to revive that legal proceeding,” to argue the matter in a court of law.

“We have to respect each other’s rights,” he points out. Since “nobody has been able to dispute his response of where he got the money from,” and because the President has not been given the chance to prove himself in court, COSATU opines that mere suggestions from opposition parties that the President resign, do not hold.

With the global problems that are having an effect on South Africa, Parks says that if smaller opposition parties insist on the president resigning, he guarantees that “in one year, we’ll have 12 presidents” resigning. We have had the problem of presidents not completing their term of office, says Parks, and different municipalities see varying mayors “come and go every few months.” The consequences, he says, instead of better service delivery, is of chaos in that town or city.

Another problem in the judiciary is the duration of legal proceedings, with basic legal proceeding taking at least two years to be concluded in court. “You’re not going to have a president become a sacrificial lamb because we’re impatient about the political theatrics of the day,” Parks reiterates. Parliament is a “political theatre,” and not a judicial court of law. By President Ramaphosa arguing his case in front of senior counsel who can verify the evidence, and expert judges who are not pandering to “politicians looking for points ahead of local elections,” the outcome will be better for everyone.

If the matter goes to a proper court, it would be good for everyone, because this is a constitutional democracy. Parks concludes that there are very few countries in the world that boasts the kind of “transparency and accountability and robustness” that is found in South Africa.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Matthew Parks here.