The strength of our democratic institutions lies in serving all South Africans, no matter their status, and doing so transparently.
Secrecy is a demon that poses an existential threat to institutions and could be detrimental to the country’s young democracy.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) should have kept this in mind when deciding to keep its full report into the Phala Phala investigation secret.
Simple logic dictates that anything, especially of this magnitude, that’s shrouded in secrecy gives rise to suspicion. Ordinarily, where there’s smoke, there must be fire and this can only be dispelled or addressed by revealing the full details of the decision. The public interest in the matter far outweighs any other concerns.
The SARB’s findings, which appear to clear President Cyril Ramapahosa of any wrongdoing, raise more questions than answers, and that in itself should be cause for concern insofar as the independence of this institution is concerned.
Without getting into the details of the findings because of the limited information, the SARB said there was no perfected transaction and it could not conclude that there was any contravention of the Exchange Control Regulations by Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC (the entity involved) or Ramaphosa.
It concluded that the transaction was subject to conditions precedent which were not fulfilled, and therefore there was no legal entitlement within the meaning of Regulation (6)(1), on the part of Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC, to the foreign currency.
This has raised questions that, presumably, the full report can answer.
Therefore, keeping it secret does little to help the public, and the SARB for that matter, to calm the concerns.
For sure, the SARB cannot expect South Africans to take what it says as gospel truth. Keeping the report sealed is also in conflict with Ramaphosa’s publicly stated values of being transparent, unless that was rhetoric to win public trust upon becoming president.
The SARB needs no reminder that it exists to serve the interests of South Africans. It has failed to do so in this Phala Phala investigation.
If anything, its decision has the hallmarks of a cover-up. And the only way of settling this is making the full report public. It’s what South Africans deserve, nothing less.
Cape Times