Those responsible for the destruction of the SA Revenue Service (Sars) continue to play a dicey game.
Next week’s public hearings at the commission of inquiry chaired by retired judge Robert Nugent should finally provide a glimpse into the perspective of Tom Moyane and his loyalists, who have thus far remained mum in the face of wilting criticism over their role in undermining Sars.
International consultancy Bain & Co is employing wily public relations tactics to weasel its way out of its role in the destruction of a critical institution that should enable SA’s developmental state. But the company’s antics are crystal clear after their PR tricks backfired for all to see. This week, Business Leadership SA suspended Bain over its role in "yet another state capture project under the pretext of restructuring".
Bain issued a soppy statement on how seriously it views the allegations emerging at the commission and announced that its managing partner, Vittorrio Massone, had stepped down and that it was "putting aside" its earnings from the Sars contract. This, by the account of Treasury officials, it received irregularly in a process littered with "red flags".
Reading the shocking transcript of Massone’s testimony, in which he admits he presented Moyane with a plan to overhaul Sars a year before the now suspended commissioner was appointed to head the tax agency, provides a more sobering perspective on Bain’s regrets when it comes to Sars. It really has none.
Similar allegations arose in 2014 about its contract with Telkom, which the latter recently denied, saying the process it followed to hire Bain was all above board. A complaint about the Telkom contract was laid with the public protector, but there is little clarity on the progress of the investigation.
Barely a day after issuing its statement on the revelations at the tax inquiry, Bain clarified that Massone had not stepped down as a partner and was due to be shifted to another post in three months anyway.
Reading the shocking transcript of Massone’s testimony, in which he admits he presented Moyane with a plan to overhaul Sars a year before the now suspended commissioner was appointed to head the tax agency, provides a more sobering perspective on Bain’s regrets when it comes to Sars. It really has none.
Massone did not feel he had to apologise to taxpayers for its work at Sars. He is back in the hot seat at the inquiry next week, where he is likely to be asked to explain two visits with former president Jacob Zuma — during the same period he advised Moyane — and whether he gave Zuma any gifts.
The disciplinary inquiry against Moyane hangs loosely in the air as he and his legal team threaten court action, although they have not yet followed through. After a slap-down by Nugent for reportedly attempting to intimidate Sars inquiry witnesses, the service’s former head of business and individual taxes, Jonas Makwakwa, who is seen as Moyane’s henchman, has retreated into silence.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. The Sars inquiry resumes public hearings on Tuesday, and further details on the hollowing out of the institution are likely to emerge. But the public can also expect submissions by key Moyane allies. It will be the first time that those who were loyal to the suspended commissioner emerge from the shadows and place their — and his — version of events on record, under oath.
Hlengani Mathebula and Luther Lebelo, who both sat on Moyane’s executive committee, are among those set to provide evidence. Mathebula was head of enforcement, and it was to him that controversial Sars fraud and investigations manager Yegan Mundie reported. Mundie resigned under a cloud in July after he was suspended by the new leadership at the tax agency. He is reported to have had links to shady figures such as Robert Huang, a Zuma family associate, and is alleged to have interfered in investigations into the R400m tax bill of businessman Mark Lifman.
While tasked with internally investigating allegations of fraud against Sars staffers, Mundie appeared mainly to unfairly target Sars officials working on sensitive investigations themselves. Among those officials are Yousuf Denath, a senior fraud investigations manager, who was suspended on spurious grounds and has since won the case against him and returned to his post. Denath is expected to shed more light on Mundie’s ominous role.
Senior investigator Ronel van Wyk is expected to paint a similar picture. She resigned due to alleged hounding over which cases to prioritise.
Mathebula is likely to shed light on Sars’s international standing. While it once punched above its weight in international forums, Business Day understands that Sars’s standing abroad has plummeted.
Lebelo, the group executive for employee relations, was Sars’s de facto spokesperson under Moyane, who he defended vociferously and had to be called to order after writing a letter to this newspaper in which he laid into ratings agencies in his capacity as a Sars official.
The hearings next week will be a moment of truth for Moyane, even in his absence, as those loyal to him face the grinding and withering scrutiny of the irascible Nugent and his team of commissioners.
• Marrian is political editor.
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