Johnathan Paoli
THE South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago confirmed on Wednesday that investigations into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala saga, where large amounts of foreign currency were kept at his farm, is at an advanced level.
Kganyago first announced that the probe is almost complete while talking to the Soweto community on Tuesday evening and he repeated the statement again on Wednesday morning on a popular radio talk show.
His comments came soon after the release of the Phala Phala report by the acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka, which cleared Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in his handling of the housebreaking and theft at his farm.
Kganyago said as a general principle, SARB does not comment on investigations that are underway or have taken place in the past but “we are close to finalising our report and I must state here that the investigations into Phala Phala were multifaceted.
“The Public Protector had an investigation to do, and had to pronounce on the different areas of the investigation that was conducted. The SARS had a particular role to play in terms of customs, they have pronounced with the consent of the subject of the investigation to say they have concluded and this is what they have found,” he said.
Kganyago went on to clarify that the “Hawks have to investigate the crime angle. The reserve bank is only investigating whether there was a violation of exchange controls, and if there was a violation of exchange controls, who violated the exchange controls and once that has been established, what would be the sanctions that came from there. Unfortunately I cannot state as to when we will be releasing the report.”
Last year, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) confirmed that it has no record of the $580 000 allegedly brought into South Africa by a Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa for the purchase of buffaloes at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm.
SARS was responding to the request by the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen, made in terms of section 18(1) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) regarding the declaration of a certain traveler.
Ramaphosa also came out in 2022 and admitted he had received US$580 000 from Hazim Mustafa, as payment for cattle as part of a legitimate business transaction.
In turn, Mustafa claimed in a media interview that he had complied with the requirement to declare the money to SARS officials at OR Tambo airport upon entering South Africa.
The SARS customs policy on excess currency stipulates that “every person must declare” foreign currency upon arrival in the country.
Failure to adhere to this provision is an offence that may be criminally prosecuted.
However, it was reported that Mustafa never took possession of the buffaloes and that they were still grazing at the farm at the time of the reports.
Parliament also established a panel chaired by retired Justice Sandile Ngcobo, which found in a section 89 report that President Ramaphosa has a case to answer in relation to the violations of the Constitution and the anti-corruption laws regarding the Phala Phala saga and the dollars that were allegedly stolen after being found stashed in his furniture at the farm.
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