Committee asks to see reports on Makwakwa
Parliament’s finance committee is demanding full transparency on the South African Revenue Service (SARS) decision to allow head of business and individual tax Jonas Makwakwa to resume work after being suspended for a year.
The parliamentary committee is demanding copies of the reports on which SARS commissioner Tom Moyane based his decision.
Committee chairman Yunus Carrim said in a statement on Monday that transparency from the tax authority was particularly important “in view of the waning public confidence in SARS, decreasing tax compliance among taxpayers and a decline in tax morality”.
Makwakwa was suspended in 2016 while allegations of irregular conduct against him and fellow SARS employee Kelly-Ann Elskie were investigated by independent law firm Hogan Lovells. Elskie was also suspended. The allegations were based on a report by the Financial Intelligence Centre that Makwakwa had made suspicious cash deposits and bank transfers into his bank account amounting to R1.2m from 2010 to 2016. Deposits of R450,200 were made into Elskie’s bank account.
SARS announced last week that its decision to terminate Makwakwa’s suspension was based on the report of senior counsel Terry Motau, who chaired the disciplinary hearing that Hogan Lovells had recommended. Motau found that Makwakwa was not guilty of any of the charges levelled against him.
Carrim said that on the basis of consultations with Parliament’s legal advisers, he had written to the commissioner and Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba to request a copy of the disciplinary inquiry report.
The committee also wanted a copy of the Hogan Lovells report, he said.
“Although we have no evidence that Mr Makwakwa and Ms Elskie are guilty of the allegations against them, we still believe that it is in the public interest that the report be released,” said Carrim.
“Given the role SARS plays, it not only has to be, but has to be seen to be above reproach, and perceptions of irregularities by its senior officials have to be effectively addressed,” the committee chair said.
“With the projected shortfall of R50.8bn in revenue for this financial year, we need to bolster public confidence in SARS more than ever before.
“The statement issued by SARS that Mr Makwakwa is not guilty of the charges levelled against him is terse and offers no justification for this decision,” Carrim said.