Sunday Times apologises to Gordhan over Sars 'rogue unit' claims
Cape Town – The Sunday Times has issued a front-page apology to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan for failing to give him the right to reply to a story that implicated him in a so-called SA Revenue Service (Sars) "rogue unit".
The apology followed a recent finding by Press Ombudsman Johan Retief that the story had breached the press code with its "inaccurate, misleading and unfair" content.
The newspaper referenced a draft report by auditing firm KPMG in a front-page story published in October, headlined: "Call to probe Pravin Gordhan over Sars spy saga – KPMG report confirms our story piles pressure on ex-finance minister".
It also carried an editorial headlined: "Keep shady doings in Sars out in the open."
Gordan, a former Sars commissioner, along with former senior officials Ivan Pillay and Johann van Loggerenberg – who were also implicated in the Sunday Times' series of articles on the "rogue unit" – laid a complaint with the ombudsman over various aspects of the reportage earlier this month.