News24.com | Phala Phala: SARS audit does not exonerate Ramaphosa from findings made against him - ActionSA

Herman Mashaba dismissed SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter's comments about the President being tax compliant. (PHOTO: Rosetta Msimango/City Press)

• ActionSA said Edward Kieswetter's remarks did not excuse Cyril Ramaphosa from not reporting the undeclared money stolen from his farm.
• Herman Mashaba said the president remained a "compromised individual".
• He said SA businesses could only electronically exchange foreign currency for export reasons.

ActionSA dismissed SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter's remarks, maintained that President Cyril Ramaphosa was "guilty", and that his conduct related to Phala Phala was "criminal".

News24 previously reported that Kieswetter announced that Ramaphosa and his companies, Ntaba Nyoni Estate and Ntaba Nyoni Feedlot, were tax compliant.

He said that "to date, audits have been concluded without any adverse tax findings; SARS wishes to confirm that the taxpayers are compliant with their tax obligations to date".

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba acknowledged Kieswetter's report, but said it did not excuse nor discredit the evidence gathered regarding the scandal. 

"While Kieswetter spoke broadly to the president's compliance, he did not specifically address the question of whether that sale involving [Hazim] Mustafa was correctly recorded and accounted for as part of the farm's tax return. Failure to do so would amount to tax evasion."

The party said that, despite the comments by Kieswetter and the ANC's attempts to "shield" the president, it did not prove his innocence nor remove him from accountability.

"The same applies to the ANC's decision to close ranks around the president by refusing to adopt the report in Parliament," he said. 

Earlier this week, SARS responded to DA leader John Steenhuisen's Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request.

The report confirmed there was no record that Sudanese businessperson Hazim Mustafa declared the $580 000 in cash he paid to Ramaphosa's farm.

Steenhuisen filed his PAIA form in December 2022 after Mustafa produced a document, during a Sky News interview, which he claimed was proof that he declared the money. 

READ | SARS confirms Ramaphosa, Phala Phala are 'compliant' taxpayers

Mashaba said that South African businesses could only electronically exchange foreign currency for export reasons and that documents were needed to legalise it.

In a statement on Tuesday, Steenhuisen called for Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka to probe deeper into the Phala Phala scandal after SARS provided the PAIA document and affidavit. 

The Office of the Public Protector has yet to release a report on the Phala Phala investigation following a complaint by the African Transformation Movement. 

Mashaba added: "President Ramaphosa remains a deeply compromised individual. South Africans deserve a president whose leadership is beyond reproach - and, after Jacob Zuma, now Ramaphosa, it is clear that ethical leadership cannot be found in the ANC."