- A special ANC national executive committee meeting convened to discuss the Section 89 Phala Phala panel report was cancelled on Friday.
- ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile said the meeting was cancelled because ANC officials had yet to discuss the report.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa was not present at the meeting and was still in Cape Town "consulting".
ANC leaders cancelled a special national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Friday as the party's top leaders have yet to ventilate the Section 89 independent panel report that found President Cyril Ramaphosa may have committed serious violations and broke anti-corruption laws.
ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile said the meeting was cancelled because the ANC national working committee (NWC) and top officials had yet to discuss the Section 89 report.
The special NEC was called for Friday and various ANC leaders, including former president Thabo Mbeki and Ramaphosa's deputy David Mabuza, were seen arriving at Nasrec on Friday.
Ramaphosa was not present at the NEC meeting on Friday because he was still in Cape Town "consulting", according to Mashatile.
"We regard this as urgent because Parliament will meet on 6 December. It was important that the NEC is not left behind. But the NEC decided that the matter has to be processed first by the officials and then by the ANC NWC. They do understand the urgency," Mashatile said.
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He added that the ANC NEC was conscious that the Phala Phala matter was urgent, which is why a series of meetings would take place by Sunday.
"We do not want to miss any step. That is why officials must meet," Mashatile said.
News24 reported that Ramaphosa had been considering resigning and was talked out of doing so by close allies.
The independent panel report concluded that Ramaphosa may have a constitutional case to answer regarding the 2020 February robbery at his Phala Phala farm.
The president has been under pressure from his opponents in the ANC to resign while opposition political parties, including the DA and EFF, have also called for him to go with suggestions of an early election.
Parliament is expected to meet on Tuesday, 6 December, to discuss the report.
The ANC will have to decide on its strategy before then, Mashatile said.
He confirmed Ramaphosa had been consulting broadly about the Phala Phala matter, but was not aware of who specifically Ramaphosa had spoken with.
He said the NEC meeting was in an "urgent mood" on the matter.
"We need to resolve these issues so we can go on with the responsibility of running the country," Mashatile said.