By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago says the central bank only focused on the exchange control regulations in its Phala Phala probe.
Kganyago said, the evidence before the central bank could not prove that President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ntaba Nyoni Estate, which owns the Phala Phala game farm, violated exchange controls by keeping the foreign currency.
He explained the findings of the Reserve Bank’s recent report into the Phala Phala matter to Parliament’s finance committee on Wednesday.
The report cleared the president of any wrongdoing.
Kganyago told MPs that Ramaphosa’s former Phala Phala lodge manager, Silvester Ndlovu, decided to move $580 000 from the safe to the bedroom “for safety purposes”.
He said Ndlovu removed the foreign currency to the bedroom because every employee at the lodge had access to the safe.
“On the 30th of December 2019, Ndlovu decided to move the foreign currency from the safe, to which many employees had access and which was used for general storage purposes in the Phala Phala farm, to a bedroom in the president’s house in the Phala Phala farm which he considered to be a safer place and hid it under the cushions of a sofa for fear of same being stolen while he would be on leave,” said Kganyago.
The Reserve Bank found that Ramaphosa and his Ntaba Nyoni Estate were under no legal obligation to declare the foreign currency at the Phala Phala farm.
In a statement, the Reserve Bank said neither the president nor Ntaba Nyoni was legally entitled to the $580 000 it received from Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa for 20 buffalo, as the transaction was never “perfected”.
Kganyago said Ramaphosa and Ndlovu reported that the purchase could not be finalised due to pending matters.
MPs said they were worried about the findings, asking Kganyago to confirm that the money was not the proceeds of crime.
Mzwanele Manyi of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) labelled the SARB’s findings as “wishy-washy”.
“We have a situation where thousands of US dollars have entered into the country and there seems to be no accountability anywhere, “Manyi said.
African National Congress (ANC) MP Gijimani Skosana, however, defended the scope of SARB’s investigation, saying that there were other authorities investigating the Phala Phala saga.
“A criminal case was opened in relation to this matter so you would have obviously law enforcement agencies who are investigating and I think on their part they would have a broader scope to look at other things if there are criminal activities,” Skosana said.
United Democratic Movement (UDM) MP Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said he believed that the SARB was “insulting our intelligence”.
“We are anything but stupid…. this is unadulterated clap-trap if you asked me,” he said.
Kwankwa emphasised that there was no bank guarantee nor were any formal processes followed when the cash was handed over by Hazim.