Ramaphosa said the money was a donation towards his campaign to become African National Congress (ANC) president adding that he was not aware of the donation when he initially responded to the question in Parliament from Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane on November 6.

“Since my reply in the National Assembly, I have sought to get more information regarding this matter. I have been subsequently informed that the payment referred to in the supplementary question by the Leader of Opposition does not relate to that contract," Ramaphosa said in the letter to Mbete.

“I have been told that the payment to which the Leader of the Opposition referred was made on behalf of Mr Gavin Watson into a trust account that was used to raise funds for a campaign established to support my candidature for the Presidency of the African National Congress.

“The donation was made without my knowledge. I was not aware of the existence of the donation at the time that I answered the question in the National Assembly. I thought it best to furnish this information to clear any confusion.”

The Presidency said that Ramaphosa "inadvertently provided incorrect information in reply to a supplementary question".

On November 6, Ramaphosa told members of Parliament (MPs) that he would march his son Andile to jail himself if he is found to have been involved in corrupt activities.

During Ramaphosa's quarterly question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, Maimane told the House that he had an affidavit in his possession in which a former Bosasa accountant reveals that a payment of R500 000 was made directly from the company to the president's son.

Bosasa, which now trades under the name, African Global Operations, is a company that has received billions of rands in contracts from government.

At the time, the president said he confronted his son about the payment, and that Andile Ramaphosa explained that the money was for advisory services provided to Bosasa.

"He advises both local and international companies and this payment, I can show you Mr Maimane that I asked him at close range whether this was money that was obtained illegally, unlawfully and he said this was a service that was provided. To this end, he even showed me a contract he signed with Bosasa and the contract also deals with issues of integrity, issues of anti-corruption, and all that."

Ramaphosa said if there was any corruption in the arrangement, he would act.

"If it turns out that there's any illegality and corruption in the way that he has dealt with this matter, I will be the first, absolutely the first to make sure he becomes accountable even if it means that I'm the one that will take him to the police station," he said.

On Friday, his office said that Ramaphosa requested Mbete to share his updated response with members of the National Assembly.

The president has indicated to Mbete that his reply to the supplementary question was based on information that was at his disposal at the time, regarding a business relationship between his son and African Global Operations.

"The President has confirmed to the Speaker that Mr Andile Ramaphosa’s company has a contract with African Global Operations for the provision of consultancy services to the latter in a number of African countries other than South Africa. South Africa is specifically excluded to avoid a potential conflict of interest."

Maimane called on a full investigation into the Ramaphosa family’s relationship with Bosasa and should cover all payments made to any member of the Ramaphosa family from Bosasa and African Global Operations.

He said the investigation should also cover the business relationship between Bosasa and Andile Ramaphosa.

"The president should come clean and disclose all payments received by him, his family, and his campaign by Bosasa. We need to find out: Did Ramaphosa solicit the donation? Are contracts awarded to Bosasa payback for their support for the President and his family? These questions can only be answered by a full investigation in Ramaphosa’s family dealings with Bosasa," Maimane said.

"His now-standard defence that he 'didn’t know' is wearing thin. He claims not to have known about state capture when it was happening right in front of him, and now he claims not to have known about this dodgy payment to his own campaign... Only a full investigation and full disclosure by the President will begin to unstitch this web of corruption. The DA will continue our fight to rid South Africa of corruption."

African News Agency