Tax Justice South Africa is calling on the people and Government to take action against organised criminal gangs that are plundering South Africa.
According to the group, approximately R250 million was looted from South Africa every day by the illicit economy, undermining the Government and the rule of law, and robbing the country’s people of a brighter future.
Tax Justice South Africa said it was working to raise awareness of this national menace and show how these stolen funds could be used to build a better nation.
The campaign had the support of Makali Lepholisa, former Commissioner for Customs in Lesotho, and Andy Mashaile, Interpol Turn Back Crime Ambassador, who join founder Yusuf Abramjee as directors of Tax Justice South Africa.
According to Abramjee, the decision to extend the tobacco ban into level three of the national lockdown would cost the South African people billions of rands.
Tax Justice South Africa warned that the extension of the cigarette ban was a green light for criminals to continue looting South Africa at the expense of upstanding citizens.
“With its decision to extend the irrational and unworkable tobacco ban the National Command Council has issued a blank cheque for criminals and robbed the South African people of billions of rands that could possibly have saved lives,” said Abramjee.
He went on to say that all the evidence showed that the vast majority of smokers had not stopping smoking during the lockdown but were simply buying cigarettes on the black market so the ban, he said, was failing in its sole stated purpose.
Abramjee explained that if smokers’ health was the concern, ministers would not be trying to force them to go ‘cold turkey’ without any support or rational explanation. And, he added, if the nation’s health was the concern, R2 billion in cigarette taxes – which could have bought more than 11,000 desperately needed ventilators – would not have been thrown away.
The crime epidemic spawned by the lockdown ban on cigarettes would carry its own heavy toll, he said. “For two months, the prohibition has allowed crooks in the illicit trade to enrich themselves while the Treasury has been starved of R35 million a day in cigarette excise duties.”
Abramjee went on to say that criminal networks had become so entrenched that experts said they would be almost impossible to remove. “They will continue to exploit South Africa’s 11 million smokers with sky-high prices. Their desperate customers will have to spend extra money meant for food, and innocent children will go hungry,” he said.
He added that health experts, crime experts and economists agreed that this ban had backfired. “The only beneficiaries are illicit traders in the criminal underworld, who will be celebrating in style again tonight.”
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