President Cyril Ramaphosa is lying to South Africa – Tokyo Sexwale

ANC heavyweight and prominent businessman Tokyo Sexwale says that President Cyril Ramaphosa is lying to South Africa about the Phala Phala scandal.

He shared his views on the issue during an interview with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh on the SMWX podcast.

Sexwale is one of South Africa’s top ANC politicians who has served as Human Settlements Minister and the Premier of Gauteng.

He pivoted into the corporate sector and founded Mvelaphanda Diamonds and Mvelaphanda Holdings.

These businesses focused extensively on mining, specifically platinum and diamonds, energy, and engineering.

This established him as one of South Africa’s most prominent Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) figures.

In the interview, he said South Africans are being lied to about Phala Phala. “I still feel that I’m beginning to say: Ramaphosa lied to us,” he said.

He said the idea that a foreign businessman simply showed up to buy cattle, found a deputy manager, and left a large sum of undeclared cash there is not believable.

“The entire explanation surrounding the hidden cash is a cock and bull story. It’s a childish story,” he said.

“People are not satisfied with the answers they are given. I’m not. So, we’re all asking what exactly happened there and whose money it was,” he said.

Sexwale said that Ramaphosa’s story must be tested, including how the buyer entered the country with his dollars.

“The airport and SARS records say he never arrived. He must answer to the South Africans,” he said.

The scandal is damaging South Africa’s reputation

Sexwale warned that the scandal was dragging down and damaging the credibility of critical state institutions.

These institutions include the South African Police Service (SAPS), the South African Revenue Service (SARS), and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

“They will have to appear and explain how a man with so much money came into the country. He has put the name of our president in serious jeopardy,” he said.

Sexwale contextualises the Phala Phala scandal within what he sees as a broader collapse of state authority and credibility.

“The potholes in policies, the potholes in governance, the potholes inside government are risking becoming a huge sinkhole,” he said.

He stopped short of calling South Africa a failed state. However, he warned that it is actively positioning South Africa for failure.

He cited the recent trend of high-ranking police officials ending up in the criminal dock and the army being called in to protect the police.

He said that was chilling evidence that the democratic project, launched in 1994, is at the precipice of a dangerous breakdown.

Ultimately, Sexwale calls for a collective, nationwide solution outside the narrow confines of the government of national unity.

He said that this solution should involve universities, business, labour, and civil society to stabilise the country before it reaches a point of collapse.