President’s lawyer lashes out at Moyane

FORMER South African Revenue Services (Sars) Commissioner Tom Moyane has harmed the interests of more than 50 million people, damaged the economy of the country and was not fit to be reinstated in his job.

This is how lawyers for President Cyril Ramaphosa and Judge Robert Nugent responded to an urgent application to the High Court in Pretoria by Moyane to overturn Ramaphosa’s decision to fire him.

Moyane had made the urgent application after the Constitutional Court had turned down his application for direct access to challenge the president’s decision. Yesterday, he asked the court to set aside the decision made on November 1, following the recommendations of the Nugent Commission, which was tasked to probe administration and governance at Sars since the appointment of Moyane in September 2014. In his application he, through his counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu SC, argued that he was not given a chance to give his side of the story.

Mpofu said Moyane was asking the court to interdict Ramaphosa from appointing a new Sars commissioner until his application to set aside his dismissal was heard in the main application in the High Court.

According to Moyane, the Nugent Commission was not a fair forum to hear his side of the story.

He also argued against the involvement of advocate Michael Katz, who also sat on the Nugent Commission, saying Katz had represented Ramaphosa in the Marikana Commission and continues to be his personal lawyer. Mpofu said they were asking for a reversal of the dismissal.

“Mr Moyane does not want to be reinstated to his job. He just wants the reversal of the dismissal. Mr Moyane is prepared to be on suspension pending the outcome of the disciplinary hearing against him before advocate Azhar Bham.

“He will also not be opposed if the recommendations of the Nugent Commission are added as an additional charge in the disciplinary case against him,” Mpofu argued.

Ramaphosa’s legal counsel, advocate Kameshni Pillay, said Moyane did not respond when the president asked him to give reasons why he should not fire him based on the recommendations of the Nugent Commission.

Pillay said Moyane was more interested in securing his salary but failed to challenge serious findings against him.

“The national interests far outweigh Mr Moyane’s personal interests,” Pillay said.

She asked the court to consider Judge Nugent’s interim report on Moyane’s conduct as Sars commissioner.

Both Ramaphosa and Nugent argued that Moyane had disrupted proceedings at Sars and affected the collection of taxes.

Advocate Wim Trengove – acting for Judge Nugent – asked Judge Hans Fabricius to consider the fact that during Moyane’s tenure, the Large Business Centre was “eviscerated to the detriment of revenue collection”.

“The restructuring of the organisation displaced some 200 managerial employees from their jobs, many of whom ended in positions that had no content or even job description, and in exasperation many skilled employees have left,” Trengove said.

He also said that those who remained were given supernumerary posts with their skills going to waste.

Trengove also asked Judge Fabricius to reject Moyane’s application saying he failed to co-operate with the Nugent Commission.

Judgment was reserved.