Cape Town – The South African Revenue Services (SARS) on Tuesday revealed the tax status of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his companies – Ntaba Nyoni Estate, and Ntaba Nyoni Feedlot – and said they are “compliant” taxpayers.
“… the taxpayers are compliant with their tax obligations to date,” SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said.
Kieswetter said this came after “considerable public interest and concern” in the affairs of Ramaphosa and his companies.
Cyril Ramaphosa and Ntaba Nyoni are tax compliant.
SARS says all their books & financials are inorder.
Ramaphosa owes no one.
Not even Arthur Fraser’s stolen $580 000 would make Phala Phala farm non compliant.
You declare money to SARS you’ve used, not a hypothetical income. pic.twitter.com/HXnssFFgpa
— Constitution First ?? (@Constitution_94) March 7, 2023
The $580 000 which Ramaphosa has said was payment for 20 buffalo bought by a Sudanese businessman three years ago is at the centre of allegations that almost cost him his job and endanger his chances of securing a second term after next year’s elections.
The businessman Hazim Mustafa confirmed he paid cash for animals in interviews with British media.
But SARS said that “after an extensive search”, record of the money having been declared at customs – as legally required – “could not be found … or may not be in existence”.
ALSO READ | Phala Phala saga: ‘Obligation to declare the money… was for the buyer to fulfil on arrival,’ says presidency
The statement did not name Mustafa directly, referring instead to “a certain traveller”.
It was issued in response to an information request filed by the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), seeking to establish whether the Sudanese businessman had declared the sum upon entering South Africa.
The presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said, “The obligation to declare the money… was for the buyer to fulfil on arrival and not for the management of the farm during receipt of payment”.
The scandal, which erupted in June, has tarnished Ramaphosa, who was championed as a graft-busting saviour after the corruption-tainted tenure of his predecessor Jacob Zuma.
Ramaphosa has acknowledged $580 000 in cash that was hidden beneath sofa cushions at his residence at the ranch was stolen, and has denied any wrongdoing.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
Additional information by AFP
