Another Phala Phala blow for Ramaphosa
The SARS was not able to find any record that Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa who paid $580 000 in cash to President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm, declared the cash he brought into the country in December 2019.
A News24 report notes that DA leader John Steenhuisen filed a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request with SARS in December 2022.
Steenhuisen asked for a copy of the declaration form after Mustafa produced a document that he showed journalists in an interview with Sky News, but would not hand it over.
SARS has now responded to Steenhuisen, stating that it was satisfied that after it had taken reasonable steps to find the record, it concluded that the record either did not exist, or it could not be found.
In terms of PAIA, SARS also attached an affidavit by the responsible official, in this case legal specialist Siyabonga Nkabinde, who had searched for the records but had come up with nothing.
Business Day reports that the presidency has responded, saying the responsibility to declare the money lay with the purchaser who brought the funds into SA.
‘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,’ said presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
The Star reports that EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said the revelation by SARS is damning in that ‘it refutes the concocted lies of Mustafa, who claimed on local and international news platforms that he declared the money at OR Tambo International Airport’.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said that the party would not be running commentary on the Phala Phala matter.
The Daily Maverick reports the scandal has just become much messier for Ramaphosa, who last week took another bloody nose when the Constitutional Court denied him direct access to have the section 89 parliamentary inquiry report invalidated.
That report found he had a case to answer in what would amount to an impeachment hearing.
The court did not make a finding on the merits of Ramaphosa’s application, but the refusal of direct access means Ramaphosa must now approach the High Court.
Steenhuisen said he would enter these court proceedings to add the new SARS information on undeclared funds. Mustafa told eNCA’s Annika Larsen that he had declared the massive cash he was carrying to SARS on arrival in SA in 2020.
He had intended to buy property but was directed to Phala Phala to accept buffalo and other game instead by someone he met while staying at Sun City.
He said the DA will once again table a motion National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to establish an ad hoc committee.
‘… the Phala Phala scandal does not begin and end with the President, and as such, it necessitates an ad hoc committee that will have the full powers to summon and investigate Cabinet Ministers, law enforcement bodies and other state institutions allegedly involved in this cover-up,’ said Steenhuisen.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
