The Office of the Public Protector has confirmed that the affidavit provided by the South African Revenue Services (Sars), which confirms it had no record of the US dollars concealed in couches at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm, is already being considered in its investigation in terms of a possible ethical breach.
Public Protector acting spokesperson, Ndili Msoki, said: “The affidavit provided to Mr (John) Steenhuisen by the Sars was received. This aspect has already been considered in our investigation and will be captured in our report.”
DA leader Steenhuisen on Monday wrote to the office of the acting Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, to submit a formal declaration and affidavit obtained from Sars which confirmed that the Sudanese cattle buyer claimed to be the source of the money found at the president’s farm, did not declare the funds upon entry at OR Tambo International Airport.
“As such, we have brought this to the attention of Adv. Gcaleka as the Sars declaration and affidavit may have a bearing on the initial investigation still underway by her office, and therefore warrants further examination by the Chapter 9 institution.
The DA’s initial request to the Public Protector for an investigation into the Phala Phala matter centred around a potential breach of the Executive Ethics Code.
However, we now believe that this new information could also point to contraventions of additional laws,” said Steenhuisen.
Gcaleka’s office has been investigating a complaint by African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader, Vuyo Zungula, that Ramaphosa may have violated his oath of office by failing to declare the foreign currency.
In January this year, the Public Protector’s office confirmed it had concluded its investigation into the matter, adding it was about to conclude its interim report.
However the interim report is yet to be released, due to internal review structures for quality assurance purposes.
Mosoki on Wednesday added: “Once finalised, the interim report will be delivered to all affected and implicated persons with the purpose of allowing them to make representations for the Public Protector’s consideration before the conclusion of the final report. As the PPSA, we commit to bringing finality to the matter timeously.”
Zungula meanwhile said his organisation was hoping the report would be issued “without further delay”.
“What’s clear is that the President traded using foreign currency without a permit, and the foreign currency was not declared to the SARB. This is very important because all institutions follow the law without fear or favour. The rule of law will collapse if the wealthy and politically connected are not treated the same way in terms of the law. South Africa will be an unjust society if certain people are exempt from being held accountable in terms of the law,” he said.
Spokesperson for the President, Vincent Magwenya said he had no comment on the latest developments in the matter.
Cape Times