The struggle to remove suspended South African Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane from his position is unprecedented for the institution and the country. Moyane’s time at the helm of SARS took on peculiar characteristics from its start in 2014. It was the first time a commissioner bucked against reporting to the finance minister, and he held on to this position with all three ministers under which he served: Nhlanhla Nene, Pravin Gordhan and Malusi Gigaba. It was with this cloak of arrogance, a stream of refrains claiming victimisation, together with a mind-blowing lack of accountability that he slowly wove his own demise. Moyane’s story in many ways mimics that of the man who appointed him, former president Jacob Zuma — except that the former commissioner’s tenure was far shorter. The South African Revenue Service Act of 1997 was amended in 2002 so that the power to appoint the commissioner was shifted from the finance minister to the president. However, the commissione...
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