Today the Democratic Alliance (DA) has revealed that the US dollars hidden inside the couch on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm were not declared to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) upon entering South Africa. The DA obtained this information directly from SARS following a request submitted in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
The DA Leader, John Steenhuisen, had submitted a PAIA request to SARS to obtain the “relevant currency declaration forms that Mr Hazim Mustafa submitted to declare the US$580 000 that he was bringing into the country.” The response by SARS was that “the record does not exist and/or cannot be found.” This was accompanied by an affidavit from Siyabonga Nkabinde, a legal specialist in SARS’ corporate legal services department.
This new information casts serious doubt on Ramaphosa’s claim that the US dollars were the proceeds of a business transaction. This is because legitimate business transactions are usually declared to SARS, not hidden away in couches. It now seems more likely than ever that Ramaphosa may have been in possession of these dirty dollars for a corrupt, illicit or criminal purpose.
The information also adds further credence to the findings of the Section 89 panel’s report that there exists prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution, the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, as well as his oath of office. Last year, the ANC used its majority in the National Assembly to reject the panel’s report and Ramaphosa vowed to overturn it in court. However, the Constitutional Court last week denied him direct access to challenge the panel’s findings.
The DA will now introduce this new information from SARS as evidence that the panel’s report must stand. The DA will also submit this information to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as another reason why she must accede to the DA’s request for the urgent establishment of an ad hoc committee to fully expose the truth behind the President’s dirty dollars.