President Cyril Ramaphosa has terminated with immediate effect the employment of Tom Moyane as Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
This, the Presidency said in a statement of Thursday, follows the recommendation made by the SARS Commission chaired by Judge Robert Nugent that immediate action is needed to forestall any further deterioration of our tax administration system.
The termination comes seven months after Moyane was placed on suspension by the President.
In the suspension letter, President Ramaphosa said the decision to suspend Moyane followed developments at the SARS under his leadership that resulted in a deterioration in public confidence in the institution and in public finances being compromised.
“For the sake of the country and the economy, this situation cannot be allowed to continue, or to worsen,” President Ramaphosa said.
In a letter to Moyane, President Ramaphosa says that the interim report of the Nugent Commission “paints a deeply concerning picture of the current state of SARS and the reckless mismanagement which characterised your tenure as Commissioner of SARS”.
“Of further, and in many ways greater, concern is your refusal to meaningfully participate in the SARS Commission in order to assist with identifying the root causes of the systemic failures at SARS and ways in which to arrest these,” he said.
President Ramaphosa also indicated in his letter that the representations submitted by Moyane in response to the recommendations of the Nugent Commission fail entirely to deal with the substantive issues the report raises.
“The interim report makes clear that there is considerable evidence, which the SARS Commission gathered, indicating that in order to resolve the challenges at SARS, it would be best to terminate your services,” the President said in the letter.
SARS Acting Commissioner Mark Kingon remains in place until such time as the vacancy of National Commissioner is filled.
The Revenue Service on Friday issued a statement to say it had noted the announcement by the President. – SAnews.gov.za
