EFF statement on SARS confirmation that 580 000 US dollars handed over at Phala Phala farms was not declared
6 March 2023
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has noted the response by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to a request to access its records, in which SARS has confirmed that there was no declaration of the 580 000 US Dollars which were illicitly brought into South Africa and given to Cyril Ramaphosa's employee at Phala Phala Farm.
The revelation by SARS is damning, in that it refutes the concocted lies of the Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa, who claimed on local and international news platforms that he declared the money he smuggled to Ramaphosa at OR Tambo International Airport. SARS has today confirmed that no such a declaration exists, exposing Mustafa as being part of an orchestrated attempt to mislead South Africa and bury the Phala Phala Farm scandal.
It is now an undeniable fact that at least 580 000 US Dollars were brought into South Africa illegally, and were not declared to SARS or the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). It is further undenied that the money which was supposedly for the purchase of buffalo on Phala Phala Farm was laundered through a falsified transaction, because the buffalo which were supposedly bought never left Phala Phala Farm.
The lies and delay tactics of Cyril Ramaphosa and institutions that ought to counter financial crimes in South Africa are failing dismally in the face of the truth. SARS confirmation of the non-existence of a declaration by Mustafa of the money which was given to Ramaphosa, gives credence to the suspicions that Ramaphosa never declared the money he placed in sofas and mattresses to SARS himself, because he knew the money was never declared once it entered South Africa.
This means that Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa actively aided and participated in tax evasion. This affirms the Section 89 Independent Panel's findings, which found that Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution of South Africa and sections of the Executive Members Ethics Act.
The EFF reiterates its call for the immediate resignation of Cyril Ramaphosa for having failed dismally to lead South Africa and for being a certified Constitutional Delinquent.
The Phala Phala Farm scandal is the greatest violation of South Africa's laws and undermining of our economy, and is a contributing factor to the grey listing of our country by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Ramaphosa is a criminal, and if he does not resign as the lies of Phala Phala unravel, then the people of South Africa must stand up on the 20th of March 2023 and force him to leave the Office of the President, which he continues to disgrace and destroy.
Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 6 March 2023
