ActionSA president Herman Mashaba said that his party will submit an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to get access to the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) report into whether President Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to disclose the foreign currency which was stolen from his Phala Phala farm in 2020 was indeed unlawful.
Mashaba said in a statement that his party contends that the report is most likely a whitewash and if indeed there is nothing to hide, the SARB governor, Lesetja Kganyago, must honour their application in terms of PAIA so that the people of South Africa may satisfy themselves that this is not another cover-up.
“Should our application be denied we will be left with no option but to approach the high court seeking an order compelling the SARB to furnish us with the report. Furthermore, once we have had sight of the report and if our suspicions are correct, that the report is indeed a whitewash, we will take the report on judicial review.
“How is it possible that $580 000 (or $4 million as Arthur Fraser has alleged) can be hidden away in a couch without our financial agencies being aware of it?” read his statement.
Mashaba said that his party will continue to follow all possible avenues to ensure that the president does not get away with his possible unlawful actions and seek to ensure that the SARB report is released publicly.
“We have already asked the National Assembly, Sars and SARB to hold the president accountable and will investigate other avenues at our disposal.
“As a party which values the rule of law, ActionSA believes that all South Africans need to be treated equally by our law enforcement agencies and need to be held accountable for their actions,” he said.
Mashaba said that Ramaphosa cannot receive special treatment simply because he is the president of the country. The party said they will therefore keep working to ensure he is held accountable.