On the face of it the president has recently made two inspired appointments for two critical institutions.
About two months ago he announced the appointment of Andy Mothibi, former head of the effective Special Investigating Unit (SIU), as national director of public prosecutions to head the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), an entity that failed to meet expectations under the former incumbent Shamila Batohi. Mothibi’s task will be to continue Batohi’s work of transforming the organisation and ensuring that it successfully prosecutes high profile corruption cases.
Then last week President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that deputy South African Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu would take over from commissioner Edward Kieswetter, who leaves at the end of April. The announcement was welcomed by tax professionals and by Kieswetter himself, who had appointed Makhubu along with two other deputy commissioners from the private sector in 2023 to strengthen the executive team. Makhubu, the only internal candidate, was assigned responsibility for taxpayer engagement and operations.
The unanimous choice by the selection panel ― appointed to seek a replacement for Kieswetter ― of someone from within Sars to take over the commissioner role was a wise one. Especially as the panel took several months to make its recommendation, leaving little time for an in-depth handover by Kieswetter. Sars is a large and complex organisation of about 13,000 employees that would have been difficult for an outsider to immediately get to grips with while still enjoying the confidence of staff.
Makhubu, who has extensive private sector experience in senior positions, has been with Sars since 2016, having performed the roles of chief procurement officer, CFO and chief revenue officer. He bore witness to the decimation of the organisation under former commissioner Tom Moyane (2014-18) and its resurrection (2019-26) under Kieswetter. The latter worked hard to re-establish the institutional integrity of the tax authority, strengthen its capacity and restore public trust in it.
Unless they leave the organisation, Makhubu will be supported by the other two highly skilled deputy commissioners — Carl Scholtz who has extensive private sector experience and is in charge of enterprise strategy, enablement and modernisation, and Bridgitte Backman, who is in charge of corporate and enterprise services.
Formidable challenges
Makhubu and his team face formidable challenges in maintaining the momentum of Sars’ modernisation and digital transformation strategy using data analytics and AI. This includes the VAT modernisation project to introduce real-time VAT reporting, due for completion in 2028.
Sars also has to continually strive to broaden the tax base, improve tax compliance and reduce the mountain of outstanding taxpayer debt. Combatting tax fraud and the illicit alcohol, tobacco and fuel sectors are also key goals, as is keeping abreast of the loopholes tax advisers find to assist their clients to avoid paying tax.
But its most important immediate objective is to achieve the tax revenue target of R2.13-trillion set by the National Treasury for 2026/27.
Mothibi proved his worth as head of the SIU as has Makhubu at Sars but only time will tell whether either of them will measure up to the expectations we have of them and the daunting task facing them in their new leadership roles.
The appointment of Batohi to take over as head of the NPA was hailed as smart and a coup for South Africa. She was senior legal advisor to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Hague in 2009-19 before her appointment, which would ultimately end in disappointment.
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