Of south africa’s governing party, the african national congress (anc), have backed president cyril ramaphosa as he faces corruption allegations and a possible vote in parliament on impeachment. the scandal erupted in june when a former south african spy boss, zuma-ally arthur fraser, filed a complaint with police accusing the president of hiding a theft of $4m (â£3.25m) in cash from his phala phala game farm. earlier, leader of the opposition economic freedom fighters julius malema called for the arrest of the president alleging that he had committed a crime.
Theft at the phala phala game farm occurred in 2020 and the independent report was due to be debated in parliament on tuesday. mr ramaphosa admitted that some money, which had been hidden in a sofa, had been stolen, but said it was $580,000 not $4m. the president said the $580,000 had come from the sale of buffalo, but the panel, headed by a former chief justice, said it had “substantial doubt” about whether a sale took place.
Africa has strict rules on holding foreign currency, which say that it must be deposited with an authorised dealer such as a bank with 30 days. it appears as though the president may have broken those rules. if the money was from selling buffalo as he declared, this money should have been declared, rather than kept in cash. the president is under pressure from his rivals within the anc, as well as the opposition, to resign. this scandal has arisen as a result of the president’s alleged failure to follow the country’s currency regulations and laws.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-63857112?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
