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President Ramaphosa’s response to the criminal charges laid against him by former Spy Boss, Arthur Fraser, in relation to the alleged theft of $4 million from the President’s Limpopo farm in February 2020, raises more questions than it answers. What is most evident in this latest factional saga, is that ANC infighting, intra-party battles, and factionalism continue to dangerously destabilise the South African state.

The conclusion that each and every South African must now reach, is that the only hope of restoring stability to the South African state, and ensuring the future of our nation, is to vote the ANC out of office. We cannot allow the toxic infighting of the ANC to demolish the project of a free, democratic, and prosperous South Africa.

The Democratic Alliance will not be pulled into the ANC’s factional battles, however, we still have a duty to the Republic to ensure that even the President is not above the rule of law. There are many holes in this story that need to be filled. To this end, we will be taking several steps to get to the bottom of this issue which remains worryingly unclear.

Firstly, we will be writing to the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), Mr Edward Kieswetter, alerting him to this sum of money, and calling on SARS to investigate whether this sum was declared and whether it carries tax implications, as per the Income Tax Act and Tax Administration Act.

Secondly, we will be writing to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to ascertain whether this sum of foreign currency pertains to an illicit flow of funds and potential money laundering on the part of the President, as per the Currency and Exchanges Act of 1933. The nation deserves to know the truth behind this transaction, and the DA will ensure that this matter does not become another ANC cover up.

As part of our duty to ensure that state Presidents and former ANC leaders answer to the rule of law in South Africa, we also look forward to the Supreme Court of Appeal’s hearing of Jacob Zuma’s medical parole appeal which has now been set for 15 August 2022. In this case, we trust that the rule of law will prevail and that Arthur Fraser’s unlawful granting of medical parole to former President Jacob Zuma will send him back to jail. Whether sitting or former, the DA will not hesitate to hold any of our state presidents accountable.

South Africa can no longer be held ransom by the ANC’s incessant infighting and factional battles which have already bled out onto the streets of our nation and led to many deaths. If the ANC is the principal cause of state instability and the collapse of South Africa’s democratic project, then there is only one thing we as South Africans must do: the ANC must be voted out of office in 2024.

Issued by John Steenhuisen MP - Leader of the Democratic Alliance