Victim seeks prosecutions for capture of Sars
• ‘Those responsible at Sars must be brought to book’
While SA Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Edward Kieswetter did well in compensating scores of current and former employees adversely affected by state capture, the victims say more must be done, including prosecuting those who sought to collapse the tax agency. One of 16 people who received compensation, speaking on condition of anonymity, pressed for litigation, saying “One can only hope for the day when [those implicated at Sars] face justice and account for damage they caused.”
While SA Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Edward Kieswetter did well in compensating scores of current and former employees adversely affected by state capture, the victims say more must be done, including prosecuting those who sought to collapse the tax agency.
Stefanie Fick, head of legal for the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, a nonprofit focused on government graft and abuse of public funds, said compensation for those affected by state capture was an excellent idea.
“It’s necessary. It should have been done a long time ago. It’s like whistle-blowers. Their lives were basically ruined,” Fick said. “The talent that was lost, will we ever get that back? I hope Sars is on the road to recovery so that it can be the world-renowned organisation it once was.”
Fick said those responsible for state capture at Sars must be brought to book.
Keith Engel, CEO of the SA Institute of Taxation, highlighted the role of the National Prosecuting Authority in terms of tax enforcement. “You want a couple of high-profile cases which scare people into negotiating.”
One of 16 people who received compensation, speaking on condition of anonymity, pressed for litigation: “One can only hope for the day when Tom Moyane; Jonas Makwakwa; Luther Lebelo; Yegan Mundie; Hlengani Mathebula; Bain & Co; KPMG; Mashiane, Moodley, Monama attorneys; and many others [who were identified by retired judge Robert Nugent as former commissioner Moyane’s enablers] face justice and account for damage they caused to Sars, the fiscus and this country.”
Engel said of Kieswetter: “I think we’ve seen him do more on corruption than we’ve ever seen before. He is prosecuting cases of corruption and abuse. He’s not talking about lifestyle audits, he’s actually doing them. He’s tackling a lot of mid-level corruption and I think that will help us with the greylisting.”
SA is facing a probable demotion in February from international watchdog the Financial Action Task Force for lax scrutiny of financial flows, and weak measures against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Sars, once one of the best tax collection agencies in Africa, was one of the main state entities targeted for systemic weakening during years of state capture, with former president Jacob Zuma privately consulting Bain & Co over reforms, and Moyane at the helm of Sars.
Damage to operations and reputation occurred under Moyane, Nugent’s inquiry into Sars showed. He found there was a failure of integrity and governance under Moyane.
Last week, Kieswetter announced compensation for a group of former employees who had suffered harm due to capture at Sars.
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Among those compensated were former deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay; former investigations executive Johann van Loggerenberg; former spokespersons Adrian Lackay and Marika Muller; former enforcement head Gene Ravele; former strategy and risk executive Peter Richer; former specialist investigator Gilbert Gunn; and former compliance and strategy consultant Telita Snyckers; as well as Pieter de Bod, Charl Fourie, Andries Janse van Rensburg, Nkele Pitsi and Siobhan Wilson.
Others in the group declined to have their names disclosed.
In a statement on Thursday, Kieswetter gave a “heartfelt public apology” and regretted the “suffering visited on them and their families” due to Sars’s actions. “Not every one of the people who we settled with are delighted. Some of them have said that the best we can do is close this chapter,” Kieswetter told Business Day. “Others say ‘wow, this is beyond my wildest dreams, thank you very much.’
“And so, you never find a situation that will make everyone happy. In one or two cases, we adjusted people’s salaries because we had evidence that they were compromised. That dealt with about 35 individuals internally,” he said.
He tasked retired Constitutional Court judge Johan Froneman and former public protector Thuli Madonsela with assessing external cases.
“I accepted every single recommendation in respect of each of the 16 people. Every one of those people entered into an agreement, which is confidential,” said Kieswetter.
One of those compensated, who asked not to be named, praised Kieswetter for recognising “harm suffered by many of us and our families and the damage caused to our reputations and careers under the unsettling tenure of his delinquent predecessor”.
Another former staff member said the personal toll included divorce, illness and loss of housing.
“The way Sars treated exemployees was atrocious ... transparency at a tax administration is paramount. The fight against illicit tobacco is a filthy, dirty business,” Snyckers said
“Good guys don’t always win and, importantly, under good leadership, even big unwieldy ships can change course and turn in the right direction.”
While he would not say how much Sars spent on compensation, Kieswetter was adamant the amounts were fair. “Every decision I’ve taken, I’ve taken in good conscience,” he said.
“It was the right thing to do. “I believe I can look every one of these people in the eye, knowing that I have done the best I could. I know people will criticise me,” he said.
WHILE HE WOULD NOT SAY HOW MUCH SARS SPENT ON COMPENSATION, KIESWETTER WAS ADAMANT THE AMOUNTS WERE FAIR