Bids made to scrap e-filing, Nugent commission hears
SUSPENDED SA Revenue Services (Sars) commissioner Tom Moyane’s decision to scrap the 2007 IT modernisation programme of former commissioner Pravin Gordhan placed more than R66million worth of projects at risk.
This was the testimony of Sue Burger, Sars executive project manager, who was testifying before the Nugent Commission about the impact of Moyane’s leadership on the operations of Sars after he took over in September 2014.
The commission, chaired by retired Judge Robert Nugent, is tasked with probing administration and governance at Sars since the appointment of Moyane.
Yesterday, three witnesses, including Burger, painted a picture of how Moyane allegedly collapsed IT systems, customs enforcement measures and nearly scrapped the e-filing tax system a few months after taking over.
Earlier, the commission heard that the modernisation programme was introduced in 2007, while Gordhan was at the helm.
Burger told the commission she was the Sars project manager for customs enforcement, saying she was leader of a team of 12 people, while others also had people working under them.
According to Burger, under the modernisation project Sars, at the beginning of each year, adopted an annual performance plan to improve revenue collection and to implement any new legislation introduced by the government.
She said all the units worked as a team, and had regular meetings to assess their achievements and failures, including budgeting for their different projects.
The commission heard that this had been the practice since the tenure of Gordhan, and continued to happen with Sars commissioners without fail until September 2014, when Moyane took over.
According to Burger and others who testified, their troubles began on December 12, 2014, when a newsflash appeared in their internal communication and announced the scrapping of the modernisation project.
“We were not consulted. The decision placed more than R66-million worth of projects at risk. It was just like the curtain fell,” Burger said.
She told the commission that Sars had, since December 2014, failed to account for more than R22m worth of assets which were captured in the e-Central system.
She said Moyane then introduced a new IT partner, Gartner, to set up a new IT system. According to Burger, all project managers were grouped into one, under her leadership.
Gartner is one of the companies the National Treasury has compiled a dossier on, and alleges that it was paid more than R200m without proper procurement processes.
Yesterday, the commission heard that Gartner scrapped all the modernisation legacy projects, and Burger said they had to plead for the e-filing system to be retained.
In April, Gordhan testified that he and his team, which included IT experts, developed the new system with the aim of increasing the tax base of South Africa. Gordhan said the other aim was to reduce long queues at Sars offices through the introduction of the e-filing system.
According to Gordhan and some of his team, who corroborated his version, the modernisation programme received international accolades, especially from the International Monetary Fund and rating agencies for its data reliability.
The commission also heard Sars was able to share its data with countries such as the US to prevent money laundering and the illicit flow of goods. The hearing continues.