FINANCE COMMITTEE WELCOMES SARS COMMISSIONER’S DISMISSAL

Parliament, Friday, 2 November 2018 – The Standing Committee on Finance at its meeting today, reviewing the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, welcomed the dismissal of South African Revenue Services (Sars) Commissioner, Mr Tom Moyane.

We feel that the President had no choice but to dismiss Mr Moyane given the almost unanimous views expressed at the Nugent Commission that he had mismanaged Sars, the amount of revenue shortfall now emerging and the decisive and final proposal from the commission that he be dismissed, said the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Mr Yunus Carrim.

We found in our own experience of Mr Moyane’s management of the allegations against his colleagues, Mr Jonas Makwakwa and Ms Kerry-Ann Elskie, many inconsistencies and much evasion that reflected very badly on Sars. Sars’ failure to respond accurately to our concerns on this matter consumed a considerable amount of our time.

We also expressed serious concern at our meeting this morning that Sars may have been misleading the committee in its persistent denials that it was withholding value-added tax returns to inflate its achievement of revenue targets.

The Standing Committee on Finance requests the President to appoint a new Sars Commissioner as soon as reasonably possible.    

Statement issued by Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Mr Yunus Carrim, 2 November 2018