BUSINESS MAVERICK: First 30 days at SARS: Edward Kieswetter finds his feet, makes big promises

Edward Kieswetter is frank about the mess he inherited at SARS when he started on May 1 as the commissioner of the tax collection agency, replacing Tom Moyane.

In 2018, he served on the board of Transnet, the freight transport state-owned entity that was central to the State Capture project under Jacob Zuma’s presidency. In just a year, Transnet’s board ramped up clean-up efforts by axing executives tainted by corruption, mainly former CEO Siyabonga Gama, and recovered money pillaged through unlawfully awarded tenders.

To recap: Moyane was fired by Ramaphosa in November 2014 after judge Robert Nugent finalised his commission of inquiry into governance failures at SARS. Nugent found that Moyane lacked integrity and crippled the organisation as he, along with consulting firm Bain & Co, restructured SARS’ operating model, weakening the agency in the process.

SA’s weak economy might be a blight on SARS’ targets because strong revenue collection hinges on macro-economic conditions. Already the economy is under pressure as seen on Tuesday when economic growth for the first quarter of 2019 contracted by 3.2%, the steepest quarterly contraction in a decade. SARS is offering some incentives to improve voluntary compliance and morality, which has declined because people refused to submit income tax returns in protest of the looting of taxpayer funds that were meant for SA’s socioeconomic developmental goals.

As SA eagerly awaits the prosecution of State Capture architects, SARS is building separate capacity and skills to deal with information flowing from the State Capture inquiry. This capacity within the tax agency will be led by SARS veteran Mark Kingon.We are also working closely with organs like the Special Investigating Unit and National Prosecuting Authority to ensure that…those who have been involved in any corrupt activity face the consequences for their actions.

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