Johannesburg, August 23, 2023 – The demand for transparency and accountability within South Africa’s political landscape has reached a new crescendo as Bantu Holomisa, leader of the United Democratic Movement (UDM), calls for public access to the highly anticipated Phala Phala report. The report, compiled by the Reserve Bank, delves into the investigation surrounding allegations of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s potential violation of foreign-exchange control laws.
This week, the Reserve Bank issued a statement about its investigation findings on whether President Cyril Ramaphosa flouted foreign-exchange control laws, after millions of dollars were stolen from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
The Bank said it could not find whether Ramaphosa contravened the control regulations, citing that the sale of buffaloes in question was not a “perfected transaction”.
In a statement, Bantu Holomisa stressed his commitment to upholding transparency and accountability in government affairs. He stated, “The South African public deserves to know the truth about any potential breach of the law by those in leadership positions. Transparency is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy, and we urge the authorities to make the Phala Phala report public.”
“The Bank’s Phala Phala report is in the interest of the public. We disagree with them there are confidential parts of the report — on what basis? We are talking about investigating a crime.
“They have failed to do the work they needed to do on whether Ramaphosa declared the foreign currency or not. After a year and a half of investigations, they could not answer that,”
The South African Reserve Bank has not yet indicated a timeline for the release of the Phala Phala report, but as pressure mounts from various quarters including the EFF which said it was seeking legal advice to consider challenging the report, the call for transparency and accountability resonates louder than ever.
In his statement Holomisa reiterated that “there was undeclared foreign cash currency involved, stashed in furniture, which was stolen (with which no buffalo were bought). It is still not clear if the foreign currency was declared with the Bank within 30 days of entering the country.
“If there were no perfected transactions, to whom did the foreign currency belong to at the time of the theft at Phala Phala? Furthermore, what are the implications of what the Bank is saying in its statement? To whom does the foreign currency belong to now? Is the Bank implying President Ramaphosa is a thief or is he misleading the country?”
As the UDM leader’s demands gain momentum, South Africans await the release of the Phala Phala report with bated breath.