President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Wednesday appear before the National Assembly for his first oral question and answer session since Parliament elected him as president of the country in February‚ and echoes of #paybackthemoney will reverberate for some observers when Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema stands up.

Malema will be asking Ramaphosa to tell the nation:

“What is the total amount that the Presidency spent on the legal costs of former President‚ Mr J G Zuma‚ since his election as President in 2009 and (b) on what legal provision(s) or policy did the State rely when using state resources to fund the former President’s personal legal costs?”

The National Freedom Party’s Prof N M Khubisa will ask Ramaphosa:

“What steps does he intend to take to ensure that the public’s confidence is restored in the National Prosecuting Authority that has lost the public’s confidence over the past 8 years due to malfunctioning‚ maladministration‚ political interference and some errors in decision-making?”

Mmusi Maimane from the Democratic Alliance will be asking Ramaphosa to get down to nitty gritty and provide “the full details of the Government’s plan to expropriate land without compensation”.

In December‚ the DA calculated that Zuma was personally liable for R6-million in legal fees.

This followed the North Gauteng High Court ruling rejecting Zuma’s challenge of the Public Protector’s State of Capture report and its recommendations‚ holding him personally liable for the legal fees.

Maimane at the time hailed it as a landmark victory for the people of South Africa.

“For too long‚ South Africans have been personally paying the extravagant legal bill of a president who – instead of leading a country – spends most of his days in court…”