Moyane must go for Sars’ sake

E-FILING and improved revenue collection made Sars a global leader and a real South African success story, yet we have heard at the Nugent Commission that this system is at risk of collapse as a direct result of decisions made by suspended Sars commissioner Tom Moyane.

According to evidence, Moyane decided to scrap the modernisation programme introduced by Pravin Gordhan just months after taking office. Today, Sars’s digital infrastructure lags behind and could collapse in the next year or two. To fix the system will cost an estimated R1 billion.

One of the witnesses yesterday told Nugent he would rather throw himself in front of a moving train than approach Moyane to complain about his decision on the modernisation programme.

Judge Robert Nugent heard repeatedly that the main problem was Moyane, whose ill-advised appointment by former president Jacob Zuma had been a calamity for Sars.

The hearings are due to continue, but Nugent has clearly heard enough to realise that Moyane needs to go. Yet he seems determined to hang on to power, challenging the commission’s appointment and his own disciplinary hearing.

Should it be possible to rid Sars of Moyane and appoint a suitable replacement, this may go a long way to restoring confidence in Sars, improving tax morality and giving the public hope that the government really is serious about the fight against corruption.