In a statement issued on Monday, the ANC said it noted the SARB’s report and determination that President Cyril Ramaphosa did not violate any Exchange Control Regulations calling it an unambiguous and definitive decision.
“The African National Congress expresses its satisfaction with this conclusion and anticipates that all baseless conclusions will be dispelled. The process followed with subsequent findings by the Reserve Bank vindicates our view that South Africa is a robust democracy with resilient oversight and regulatory institutions,” read the statement issued by the party’s National spokesperson Mahlengu Bhengu-Motsiri.
The South African Reserve Bank released its report into the Phala Phala Farm saga where former Security State Agency Boss Arthur Fraser alleged in an affidavit deposed at the Rosebank Police Station in June 2022, that robbers stole dollars they found hidden in furniture at the farm.
The farm belonged to Ramaphosa and in his depositions to all state institutions probing the matter – including Parliament and SARS – the President admitted the existence of the foreign currency but said it was payment received from Hazim Mustafa, a Sudanese businessman for the purchase of game from his farm.
Further investigations, however, established that Mustafa never took possession of the cattle which is why the Reserve Bank in its findings said ‘there was no perfected transaction and thus the SARB cannot conclude that there was any contravention of the Exchange Control Regulations by Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC (the entity involved) or for that matter by the President.
“That is because the SARB has concluded that the translation in question was subject to conditions precedent which were not fulfilled, and therefore there was no legal entitlement, within the meaning of Regulation(6)(1), on the part of Ntaba Nyoni Estate CC, to the foreign currency”.
The DA, which earlier also rejected the Acting Public Protector’s report on Phala Phala exonerating the President, criticised what it called “the narrow focus of the investigation which also raises concerns about its thoroughness and whether any political considerations arose.
“This led to the Reserve Bank’s conclusion that there was no legal obligation under the exchange control regulations of 1961 to declare the foreign currency,” the party said in a statement.
The DA said SARB ignored a big part of the story – the fact that there were Dollar currency notes hidden in furniture for an extended period of time and that most likely exceeded the legal limits and for a long time, “so they do need to say something about that”.
The DA said it wants to know how far SARB conducted the investigation, whether they took into consideration the fact that the Dollars were there even though they say the transaction wasn’t ‘perfected’. And it would pose those questions to the Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago when he appears before Parliament’s Finance Committee on 30 August.
The EFF, in a statement, criticised the SARB report as a weak attempt to avoid its mandate and the true scope of its investigation to protect Ramaphosa from further legal prosecution.
“What is important here is that the statement of SARB revolves around regulation 6(1), when in fact what is at stake here, revolves around the undeclared possession of foreign currency as stipulated under regulation 7 (1).
“SARB is duty-bound to register the flow of funds and police movements of currency within South Africa’s borders. The mandate of the SARB is not to police whether transactions were concluded or not, or whether goods were delivered or not after a purchase,” the EFF said while threatening to seek legal advice on the matter.