The appointment of a suitably qualified person with integrity to head the South African Revenue Service (Sars) is critical to the health of the fiscus, sound economic policy and public confidence.
The disastrous reign of Tom Moyane as Sars commissioner in 2014-18, in which core capabilities were decimated and highly qualified staff with years of experience departed, is evidence enough of the pitfalls of a bad choice.
So it is crucial that the selection of a successor to outgoing commissioner Edward Kieswetter, who leaves Sars at end-April, is a judicious one.
Former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene has been appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to lead the process and submit a shortlist of candidates, but with only three months left of Kieswetter’s term of office there has been little indication of any progress made except confirmation by the National Treasury at end-December that no shortlist had yet been submitted to finance minister Enoch Godongwana and that the panel was still considering applications.
Quality of applicants
It now transpires that the panel is concerned about the quality of the applicants and has embarked on a headhunting exercise, further delaying the process.
A veil of secrecy surrounds the selection process. Apart from Nene, the identities of the other panel members have not been disclosed and neither have those of the applicants. This at a minimum should be public knowledge even if, as the Treasury has indicated, the interviews themselves will not be held in public.
Public scrutiny could determine whether panel members have possible conflicts of interest and whether the applicants are suitable. Such oversight is essential and its absence raises questions about what is going on.
This is not the process that was adopted by the panel led by former finance minister Trevor Manuel, which selected Kieswetter as its preferred candidate. The panel members and the shortlisted candidates were made public though the interviews were not held in public.
The delay in finalising a successor is also worrying as sufficient time is required for an adequate handover process. It is all the more surprising in that Ramaphosa asked Kieswetter at the end of his five-year contract in 2024 to stay on for a further two years to ensure an orderly transition.
One also has to ask why deputy commissioner Johnstone Makhubu, who has been with Sars since 2016 and has been described as a frontrunner, was not immediately chosen as the preferred candidate.
These are all disturbing aspects, added to which is that Kieswetter, the obvious source of what is required of his successor, has not been consulted by the panel. The possible involvement of the Treasury in the process is also of concern as it has no legal authority over Sars or its commissioner.
One also has to ask why deputy commissioner Johnstone Makhubu, who has been with Sars since 2016 and has been described as a frontrunner, was not immediately chosen as the preferred candidate. He has the endorsement of Kieswetter and was appointed deputy commissioner with two others in 2023. These appointments were intended to lay the basis for the succession.
Makhubu is understood to have the required qualities, central to which is a deep understanding of the large and complex organisation that is Sars (it has about 11,000 employees) as well as the leadership abilities to run it. Such qualities are crucial if Sars is to retain its highly qualified staff and attract the skills — especially IT, forensic, data analytics and AI skills — as it modernises its processes. A complete outsider would not be appropriate.
Also key to any commissioner is a fierce independence as the tax authority is and will be required to conduct unpopular audits of the financial affairs of politicians and has to fight for increases in its budget.
Kieswetter will be a hard act to follow. Under his watch tax revenue has increased at a higher rate than the country’s tepid economic growth and he has rejuvenated and modernised the tax authority.
His successor has to be equal to the task. We cannot fail in this.
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