Political parties have slammed the report of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), saying it failed to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable and threatened to challenge it in court.
They also accused the reserve bank of protecting Ramaphosa.
The EFF said it would take the report to court.
They said it was clear that there was a violation of foreign exchange regulations.
ActionSA also said it was considering legal action against the reserve bank over the report.
African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula said after this decision it will be difficult to trust the reserve bank.
The EFF said the SARB was trying to protect Ramaphosa at all costs.
It said it was clear there was foreign currency at his farm in Phala Phala.
“The question South Africans should ask themselves is, if there was no ‘perfected’ transaction, then why was the transaction registered in the books of Ntaba Nyoni and how did SARS determine that Ntaba Nyoni, which is solely owned by Ramaphosa, is tax compliant?” asked the EFF.
It said it will go to court to force SARB to do its job and investigate the violation of foreign exchange regulations.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said the report was a whitewash that attempted to clear Ramaphosa.
He said they wrote to SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago in June calling for the report to be made public, but he refused.
“ActionSA 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,” said Mashaba.
He said all South Africans must be held to the same standards and not given special treatment by various state agencies.
Zungula accused the reserve bank of not doing its job, but it did everything to protect Ramaphosa.
“Institutions like SARB are protecting one person when there is unquestionable evidence of wrongdoing. Who will trust the same institutions on their mandate to serve and act in the best interests of the citizens?” Zungula asked.
DA MP and its spokesperson on finance, Dion George said they will write to SARB and ask for the full report.
He said the finding raises more questions than answers.
He said the independence of SARB must not be questioned, but it appeared there was a political influence in this decision.
He added that the country deserved to know what happened at Phala Phala.
Professor Bheki Mngomezulu from Nelson Mandela University said institutions must not try to protect the president.
“What state institutions are doing is wrong on all fronts. They might think that they are protecting the president in the same manner that parliament did. Actually, they are tarnishing his political image and theirs, too.
“Moreover, they are setting a precedent. The technicalities they are citing are not politically sound, nor are they sustainable. For example, what became of these dollars that remained? Who kept them? Were they subsequently declared? Where are the animals that were allegedly sold? Did the buyer take them? In other words, for me there's more to these "findings" than meets the eye!,” Mngomezulu said.
Politics