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The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s suspension of SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane with immediate effect because his poor leadership has caused huge damage to the credibility and integrity of the SARS said Dennis George FEDUSA General Secretary.

Furthermore, in relation to Mr. Makwakwa, the Presidency blamed Moyane for the delay in attending to the report given to him by the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) which listed Makwakwa’s transgressions. Moyane also failed to report this matter to the Minister of Finance  immediately which not only violated the FICA but also violated the provisions of section 195 of the Constitution which he is enjoined to fulfill in terms of section 4(2) of the SARS Act said George.

Moreover, Moyane failed to uphold high standards of professional ethics and ensuring public administration is accountable and to being transparent to the public in relations to VAT and PAYE refunds. It was only during the briefing to the Standing Committee on Finance in Parliament that he finally agreed to release the Makwakwa Report to the Minister of Finance. The suspension is linked also to the fact that he failed to maintain discipline at the SARS as required in section 9(2) of the SARS Act or to maintain an efficient administration added George.

Tax-payers have also lost confidence in SARS due to Moyane’s failure in performing his role as an accounting officer of the revenue collecting agency. FEDUSA agrees with the Presidency that SARS’s reputation as a world class tax collection deteriorated so severely under Moyane’s watch to the point where the country started to suffer revenue shortfalls running into billions of rands and tax morality took a nosedive.

FEDUSA believes that the axing of Moyane, who is also widely seen as a close ally of former President Jacob Zuma and the notorious Gupta family is long overdue, and it will pave the way for rebuilding SARS’s tarnished image in the eyes of the South African public and restoring it to its former glory as one of the most trusted institutions of democracy in the country.

FEDUSA welcomes the appointment of Mark Kingon as the acting commissioner for the SARS. Kingon is an senior tax official with many years of experience, concluded George.

Issued by FEDUSA