Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa . Photo: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS
- The EFF has criticised the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) for granting President Cyril Ramaphosa another extension to respond to the Phala Phala matter.
- It claims the SARB is not fulfilling its constitutional duty and is misguided in its decision.
- The bank had initially given Ramaphosa 21 business days to respond to the letter but later gave him an extension of 15 working days.
The EFF has condemned, what it terms, a patently corrupt decision by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to grant yet another extension for President Cyril Ramaphosa to respond to the questions posed to him regarding Phala Phala farm robbery.
According to the EFF, the SARB has “now confirmed” that it is complicit in the cover-up of Phala Phala Farm, by granting an unjustifiable extension to an individual who is determined to avoid accountability.
“It is absolutely ridiculous that Ramaphosa has not accounted for the origins and underlying transactions of the millions of US dollars at Phala Phala farm to the Reserve Bank, after being afforded 79-days to do so. Ramaphosa has now been granted two extensions, after failing to respond within the initial 21-days he was granted from 20 June 2022,” the red berets said in a statement.
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In August, News24 reported that Ramaphosa did not report to the SA Reserve Bank the foreign exchange transaction that was the source of the US dollars that were stolen from the farm.
In a letter to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance last month, SA Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said its financial surveillance department had written to Ramaphosa’s legal advisers on 20 June to request “information and details regarding the origin of the foreign currency and any underlying transaction that may pertain to it”.
The bank had initially given Ramaphosa 21 business days to respond to the letter but later gave him an extension of 15 working days.
Kganyago’s letter to the committee follows letters written to it by two of the committee members – EFF deputy leader Floyd Shivambu and DA MP Dion George.
The theft first came to light in June when former spy boss Arthur Fraser declared in an affidavit lodged with the police that at least $4 million, which had been concealed in furniture, was stolen from the farm.
Ramaphosa has said the amount was nowhere near as large but has not provided any information on the sum.
According to the EFF, Ramaphosa failed to respond when he was granted a 15-day extension, and proceeded to provide an inadequate response which lacked detail to the Reserve Bank.
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“Afterwards, the Reserve Bank demanded details and gave him a deadline of 8 September 2022, a deadline he has failed to adhere to,” the party said.
“It is evidently clear that Ramaphosa has no intention to account for his criminality at Phala Phala farm, and has effectively not responded to the Parliament of South Africa, the Reserve Bank and has co-opted the Office of the Public Protector not to release the Phala Phala report, which is 90-days overdue to be released.”
Furthermore, the EFF claims the Reserve Bank’s decision is misguided, compromised and is reflective of an institution that has no commitment to its responsibilities as a regulator of foreign currency.
“Ramaphosa did not declare the foreign currency to the Reserve Bank, and this is clear because they still seek to establish the origins of the money and underlying transactions of it,” a statement read.
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