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Ramaphosa has 10 days to reply to preliminary PP report on Phala Phala
Those affected or implicated by the preliminary findings into the Phala Phala investigation have 10 days to respond to the public protector.
The Public Protector’s office has issued a notice on Phala-Phala investigation and the notice has been delivered to affected and implicated persons. They have 10 calendar days to make representations | Pictures: GCIS/ ANC/Supplied
The Public Protector’s office, on Saturday, confirmed that a notice on their ongoing investigation in the Phala Phala matter had been served to affected and implicated parties.
According to the statement issued by the PP’s office, “the notice encloses the preliminary findings of the Public Protector and provides recipients with an opportunity to respond to the Public Protector’s preliminary findings.
The statement further indicated that those affected or implicated by the preliminary findings have 10 calendar days to make representations to the PP.
“Once the affected and implicated persons have submitted representations to the Public Protector, such representations will be considered and a final report will be produced and published in terms of section 8(1) of the Public Protector Act read with section 182(1)(b) of the Constitution.”
Presidency responds
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya issued a statement on Saturday acknowledging receipt of the report.
“The Presidency is in receipt of the Public Protector’s preliminary report on the investigation of whether the President breached the executive ethics code with respect to the Phala Phala matter.”
The presidency further insisted on no wrongdoing on the president’s part.
“We note the report. As stated before, we reiterate that the President did not participate in any wrongdoing, nor did he violate the oath of his office. Instead, the President was a victim of a crime that he duly reported to the relevant authorities.”
Phala Phala investigation completed
In January 2023, The Public Protector’s office said it had completed its investigation into the theft of $580 000 in cash from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo.
ALSO READ: Many compliance questions remain in Phala Phala dollar saga
In a letter addressed to African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyolwethu Zungula on 20 January, Vusumuzi Dlamini, the acting executive manager of the public protector’s investigations branch, said the office’s investigation is finished and an interim report had been drafted.
The report then had to go through internal review structures for “quality assurance purposes”.
“Once the quality assurance process is completed, the interim report shall then be served to the relevant parties, in line with Rules Relating to Investigations by the Public Protector and Matters Incidental thereto, 2018, as promulgated under Section 7(11) of the Public Protector Act, to allow them to comment on the intended findings before the report is made final,” Dlamini explained.
DA sends Sars documents to Public Protector to assist its investigation
Earlier this month, the Democratic Alliance (DA) submitted documents from the South African Revenue Service (Sars) to the acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka, which the party believes will assist in the Chapter 9 institution’s Phala Phala investigation.
The party’s leader John Steenhuisen said in a statement on Tuesday that the “formal declaration” obtained from Sars confirms that Hazim Mustafa – the Sudanese businessman who allegedly paid $580 000 (R10 million) in cash to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm – did not declare the money at all.
ALSO READ: Phala Phala: Sars confirms that Ramaphosa’s stolen dollars were not declared
“President Cyril Ramaphosa had previously claimed that the sum of US dollars stolen from his Phala Phala farm was paid to him for a cattle transaction, the payer of which was Mr Hazim.
“The DA’s initial request to the Public Protector for an investigation into the Phala Phala matter centred around a potential breach of the Executive Ethics Code. However, we now believe that this new information could also point to contraventions of additional laws,” the statement reads.
The DA claims the Phala Phala matter did not begin and end with Ramaphosa, but involves a number of ministries, law enforcement bodies, and state entities – all of which are alleged to be involved in a cover-up operation.
Those potentially implicated state entities have also been given 10 days to reply to the preliminary findings of the report.
