The $580 000 (R10.5-million) paid by Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa to President Cyril Ramaphosa at Phala Phala farm in 2019 was not declared to SA Revenue Service (SARS) when it was illicitly brought to the country, according to the DA.
An undisclosed amount of dollars was stolen when a theft took place at the president’s farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
The news of the burglary was revealed by former State Security Agency boss Arthur Fraser, who opened a case against Ramaphosa accusing him of covering up the theft.
A parliamentary Section 89 Independent Panel was established to probe the matter and it concluded that the president may have a case to answer.
The panel found prima-facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution, the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, as well as his oath of office.
At the time, Ramaphosa alleged that the money came from a legitimate cattle transaction, noting that it was handed over to an employee, Sylvester Ndlovu, who later stashed it in sofa cushions at his house.
In a media interview, Mustafa confirmed the legitimacy of the transaction and said he had complied with requirements to declare the money to SARS officials at the OR Tambo Airport upon entering the country.
In December, the DA contended that if the money was declared, SARS would have records. It later filed an application for access such records in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
DA leader Steenhuisen has said, however, that there are no records of the money or transaction in SARS’ books.
“The DA can today [Monday] reveal that the US dollars hidden inside a couch on the Phala Phala farm of President Cyril Ramaphosa were not declared to SARS upon entering South Africa,” Steenhuisen said.
“The DA obtained this information directly from SARS following a request submitted in terms of the PAIA.
“The DA received SARS’ response this morning with the revenue service confirming that ‘the record does not exist and/or cannot be found’.
“This was accompanied by an affidavit from Siyabonga Nkabinde, a legal specialist in SARS’ corporate legal services department.”
In his affidavit, Nkabinde confirms: “On or around 17 January 2023, I commenced engagements with various business units within SARS that I believed may be in the custody and/or be in possession and/or have knowledge of the record requested.
“I was advised that pursuant to the search for the record in various SARS passenger processing systems, the record could not be found and/or may not be in existence.”
Steenhuisen said this is confirmation that Ramaphosa illicitly brought foreign currency to the country and hid the money as a cover-up, because “legitimate business transactions are usually not hidden from SARS”.
“It now seems more likely than ever that Ramaphosa may have been in possession of these dirty dollars for a corrupt, illicit, or criminal purpose,” he said.
Last week, the Constitutional Court dismissed the president’s application in which he sought to review and set aside the panel’s report.
Steenhuisen said if the president approaches another court to fight the authenticity of the report, the DA will use the SARS response as evidence to make sure that the report stands.
“The ANC last year abused its majority in the National Assembly to reject the panel’s report and Ramaphosa vowed to overturn it in court.
“However, the Constitutional Court last week denied him direct access to challenge the panel’s findings.
“Should Ramaphosa turn to another court in his desperate bid to avoid accountability for his possession of dirty dollars and the subsequent cover-up of the theft at Phala Phala, the DA will introduce this new information from SARS as evidence that the panel’s report must stand,” he said.
He added the opposition party will also submit this information to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as another reason why she must accede to a request for an ad hoc committee to be set up to expose the truth behind Ramaphosa’s dollars.
Meanwhile, the EFF maintains that the president must resign.
In a statement on Monday, the EFF said that SARS’ response to the DA affirms that Ramaphosa violated the constitution.
“This means that Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, actively aided and participated in tax evasion,” the EFF said.
“The EFF reiterates its call for the immediate resignation of Cyril Ramaphosa for having failed dismally to lead South Africa and for being a certified constitutional delinquent.
“The Phala Phala farm scandal is the greatest violation of South Africa’s laws and undermining of our economy and is a contributing factor to the greylisting of our country by the Financial Action Task Force.
“Ramaphosa is a criminal, and if he does not resign as the lies of Phala Phala unravel, then the people of South Africa must stand up on the 20th of March 2023 and force him to leave the office of the president, which he continues ta disgrace and destroy.”
Also read: Impeachment: Speaker, EFF butt heads
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