SA Revenue Service commissioner Dr. Johnstone Makhubu has been thrust into the Phala Phala saga spotlight barely three weeks into his five-year tenure following his appointment by the farm's owner, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Newly-appointed SA Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Dr. Johnstone Makhubu will account for the taxman’s declaration of compliance with tax obligations of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Phala Phala farm only in “duly constituted structures”.
Sars, Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka and the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) have come under widespread criticism following the Constitutional Court judgment reopening Ramaphosa’s possible impeachment for violating the Constitution and the law for failing to report the February 2020 theft of undeclared foreign currency from his farm in Bela-Bela in Limpopo.
The apex court referred to an impeachment committee the section 89 Independent Panel report, which found that, prima facie, Ramaphosa may have committed serious violations of the Constitution and the law as well as serious misconduct.
Ramaphosa has indicated that he intends taking the report of the three-member panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo on review amid calls for him to resign or to be recalled by the ANC, which has stood firmly behind him.
