Cape Town - While Sars has now confirmed it had no record of the US dollars concealed in couches at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm, the Hawks appear to be nowhere near completing their investigations into the matter.
Asked about the progress of their investigations announced nearly a year ago, Hawks spokesperson Thandi Mbambo would on Monday only say all investigations pertaining to Phala Phala “are still ongoing”.
Sars confirmed on Monday it had no record of the money, despite the alleged Sudanese buyer claiming he had declared it upon entry at OR Tambo International Airport.
This emerged after DA leader John Steenhuisen on December 7 2022 submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act request to the revenue service to obtain the relevant currency declaration forms.
“Sars confirms that it has responded to the request by the leader of the DA, Mr John Steenhuisen made in terms of section 18(1) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) regarding the declaration of a certain traveller.
“The Sars information officer, after an extensive search for the record in various Sars passenger processing systems, and engagements with the relevant business units within Sars which he believed may be in the custody of and/or in possession of and/or have knowledge of the records requested was advised that the record could not be found and/or may not be in existence,” the tax regulator said in a statement.
Steenhuisen said Sars’s confirmation added further credence to the findings of the Section 89 panel’s report that there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution, the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act and his oath of office.
“The response by Sars means that we now know that the president of South Africa had hidden dirty dollars which entered the country illegally, inside a couch on his game farm,” he said.
Steenhuisen said should Ramaphosa continue to avoid accountability by trying to approach the courts for a second time, the DA would introduce this new information from Sars as evidence that the Section 89 panel’s report must stand.
Ramaphosa was dealt a blow when the Constitutional Court last week dismissed his bid to directly challenge the Section 89 report in the apex court.
The report, led by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo found the president may have breached his oath of office over the Phala Phala farm scandal.
Ramaphosa has been facing mounting pressure to resign after it came to light that he may have attempted to help conceal a crime that saw millions of dollars stolen from his property.
The theft was not reported to the police at the time.
This information came to light after former State Security boss Arthur Fraser lodged a complaint against Ramaphosa in June, last year alleging money laundering, kidnapping and torture.
This after the suspects were allegedly traced to Milnerton, using a bogus drug case.
Fraser claimed the suspects, mostly Namibians, were also paid for their silence for the 2020 break-in.
Ramaphosa confirmed that he had received $580 000 from a Sudanese national as payment for cattle in a legitimate business transaction. There is still no clarity on why the cattle were never collected.
About Sars’s confirmation, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said yesterday: “The obligation to declare the money to Sars was for the buyer to fulfil on arrival and not for the management of the farm during receipt of payment.”
The ATM, which called for the establishment of the Section 89 panel in Parliament accused Ramaphosa of “stealing from the poor”.
“If you evade tax, you are a fiscal thief. South Africa cannot allows a constitutional delinquent and a fiscal thief to reshuffle the Cabinet. At 7pm tonight (yesterday), Mr Ramaphosa must tender his resignation and face the full wrath of the law,” the party said.
“This vindicates the substantive Section 89 motion by the ATM to remove Mr Ramaphosa for serious constitutional violations including violating his oath of office by failing to uphold, defend and respect the laws of the Republic.”
The EFF also reiterated its call for the “immediate resignation” of Ramaphosa.
“The lies and delaying tactics of Cyril Ramaphosa and institutions that ought to counter financial crimes in South Africa are failing dismally in the face of the truth. 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 (FATF),” the EFF said.
Stellenbosch University School of Public Leadership Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu said: “This is a setback for the president on the Phala Phala issue as it will mean that the transaction was made from money that was not declared to Sars by the buyer.
“The president has no control on whether a person declares the money when they enter the country. The big question is whether the president informed Sars of the foreign currency transaction? If not, then it could have implications for his position and role in the country and his party.”
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said Ramaphosa could not run away from the fact that he kept money that was not properly brought or processed by the relevant authorities.
Cape Times