GOOD secretary-general and Member of Parliament Brett Herron said President Cyril Ramaphosa should not be bullied into resigning on the basis of untested findings by the Section 89 Independent Panel.

The long-awaited Section 89 report made damning findings against Ramaphosa relating to theft of money from his Phala Phala farm.

On Thursday Ramaphosa told his closest allies at his Cape Town office he was ready to leave office, despite maintaining his innocence in the matter. His allies within the African National Congress (ANC) are pushing back hard against Ramaphosa’s resignation.

“Although it would set a new, admirable and extremely high standard for the principles of accountability, if the President is not guilty of any crimes, as he has strenuously averred, he should remain at his desk and clear his name. That would be in the best interests of the country,” said Herron.

He warned that should Ramaphosa decide to resign, it would plunge the country into a leadership crisis with potentially devastating short-term stability and socio-economic impacts.

“Whether he survives the ruling party’s elective conference or not, Ramaphosa’s position at a time of massive socio-economic strain and political contestation in the country is too important to be determined by baying hyenas at his door,” Herron added.

He stressed that the Independent Panel did not find Ramaphosa guilty of anything, rather, it conducted a preliminary assessment with limited facts at its disposal.

Herron asserted that Ramaphosa must have the opportunity to present his case, in the parliamentary impeachment process and then potentially in court.

If he has broken any laws, he must face the legal and Constitutional consequences, he added.

Meanwhile, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba critisised Ramaphosa’s silence and repeated his calls for the President to resign.

Ramaphosa was due to address the nation on Thursday evening, where it was expected he would announce his resignation. However, he was pulled into talks with his allies who have since been persuading the President to change his mind.

“Any leader with any substance would have either resigned or addressed the nation to express their position on the report. This is essential for a country looking for clarity from its President and for an already struggling economy battling against the fluctuations in the Rand because of the uncertainty,” Mashaba said.

He explained that it was an indictment of the ANC that many South Africans were understandably concerned about what Ramaphosa’s resignation would mean for the country, given the prospect of his successor being an “even more ethically compromised candidate”.

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen said if Ramaphosa was recalled now, the country would end up with a “corrupt” President in David Mabuza and if Ramaphosa survived until the ANC elective conference only to be defeated, the country would end up with a “corrupt” President in Zweli Mkhize.

“And if President Ramaphosa somehow triumphs at the conference we’re stuck with a corrupt President Ramaphosa, whose focus will be on his own political survival rather than on the good of the nation,” Steenhuisen added.

The DA said it would table a motion in Parliament calling for an early election.

The ANC is set to hold its National Executive Committee meeting on Friday afternoon, after which a Presidential address is expected.