Public protector clears Ramaphosa over RDP house handover in 2022

Public protector Kholeka Gcaleka has cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing after an investigation into allegations of maladministration and abuse of power linked to his handover of a reconstruction and development programme (RDP) house during the ANC’s Letsema campaign in 2022.

The probe focused on Ramaphosa’s role in handing over the RDP house to Martha Louw in Donkerhoek, Northern Cape, on October 1 2022.

As part of his Letsema campaign activities in the Northern Cape, Ramaphosa visited Louw's home, where he celebrated her 82nd birthday and officially handed over her RDP house.

The public protector's investigation examined whether his actions during the campaign event constituted improper conduct or an abuse of executive authority. 

The complaint was lodged on the same day in 2022 when Mr E Muller complained about Ramaphosa abusing his power and his “violation or contravention of of the constitution”.

He alleged Ramaphosa went to the Northern Cape as part of the ANC’s Letsema campaign, which is not a government campaign, and handed over the RDP house.

Muller said it was irregular and unjustifiable for an RDP house built with taxpayers' money to be issued by a political party instead of government. 

He claimed Ramaphosa abused his powers during the Letsema campaign as he had previously used a “machine” belonging to a Mpumalanga municipality to fix potholes during the campaign, and on October 1 2022, he “did a similar thing or worse” in the Northern Cape. 

Muller alleged the president exposed himself to a situation that created a conflict between his private and public interests and might likely continue unless he is “urgently stopped and reminded of his oath of office”.

Gcaleka's findings concluded there was no evidence to support claims of maladministration. She concluded the allegation that Ramaphosa handing over the RDP house to Louw, during the Letsema campaign and thereby conflating his official responsibilities with his political interests, “is not substantiated”.

“Ms Louw’s housing subsidy was approved in 2004 in line with the provisions of the constitution, the Housing Act, the White Paper of November 15 1994 and the National Housing Policy,” she said.

“The house was built on erf 20878, which Ms Louw had been occupying from the date of her application in 2000, and was handed over to her on September 30 2022 by Mr Vass and officials of CoGHSTA [department of cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs in A] and the municipality.”

Gcaleka said there was no evidence to indicate Ramaphosa handed over the house  when he visited Louw on October 1 2022, thereby acting contrary to the provisions of the constitution.

She said the evidence, in the form of responses received and pictures from TimesLIVE published on October 1 2022, indicate Ramaphosa visited Louw for the purpose of celebrating her birthday.

“Accordingly, the conduct of the president does not constitute improper conduct as envisaged in the constitution and maladministration as contemplated in the Public Protector Act.”

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