Zuma ‘had hand in weakening SARS’
• Nugent inquiry told how former president had executives replaced without due process
Former president Jacob Zuma was identified as one of the actors who had enabled the dismantling of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), along with suspended commissioner Tom Moyane, at the Nugent hearings on Thursday.
In a written submission to the inquiry, seen by Business Day, former deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay alleged that Zuma had instructed the State Security Agency to investigate SARS, due to his suspicion that the agency had employees who were “campaigning for an alternative ANC president”.
Zuma appointed Moyane to head the tax agency towards the end of 2014 and the new SARS commissioner was widely seen as being close to Zuma and in particular his son Duduzane.
SARS was one of the government entities central to the “state capture” project, which culminated in an attempt to capture the Treasury by replacing minister Nhlanhla Nene in 2015 and replacing him with little-known MP Des van Rooyen.
Zuma was removed as president, in large part, due to allegations of state capture linked to his ties with the controversial Gupta family and their influence on his administration.
Thursday’s submission also revealed that Pillay had met Zuma in February 2014 regarding intelligence dossiers, which had emerged on SARS and about “interference from his office” in the appointment of a new commissioner. It alleged there was “active instigation” from the office of the president to have certain SARS executives replaced without due process.
Zuma’s spokesman, Vukile Mathabela, had not seen the submission when asked for comment late on Thursday and had not responded to e-mailed
questions by the time of publication. Zuma’s lawyer, Michael Hulley, could not be reached.
The commission of inquiry, headed by retired judge Robert Nugent, was also on course for some turbulence as Moyane’s legal team has objected to the presence of Michael Katz on the panel. In a letter to Nugent, Moyane’s attorney, Eric Mabuza, said that Katz was conflicted “given his conflicted status as the personal and business legal representative” of Ramaphosa — described in the letter as Moyane’s “adversary”.
Moyane was at the centre of much of the submissions this week. But on Thursday light was shed on the role of his de facto second-in-command, Jonas Makwakwa. Former group executive for corporate legal affairs Makungu Mthebule described how Makwakwa’s power under Moyane was tantamount to a “dictatorship”.
Mthebule was appointed to act in Pillay’s position after his suspension in 2014, and was in charge of a division that ran the “restricted taxpayer unit” or VIP unit. She said Makwakwa would instruct her to do specific things for certain high-profile and prominent tax payers, including writing off taxes or penalties.
Former executive for dispute resolution Bernard Mokoena told the inquiry how Makwakwa had used his position to benefit his “girlfriend” at SARS, Kelly-Ann Elskie.
The commission also heard how SARS’s enforcement capacity was neutralised under Moyane. Former chief officer for enforcement Gene Ravele said he was aware that an instruction was issued for SARS to halt all inspections on cigarette companies, an instruction allegedly issued by Makwakwa.
Ravele was at the helm of the division that housed the alleged rogue unit, reports on which had weakened the institution and led to a purge of senior executives.