Why Sars’s Tom Moyane shielded Makwakwa
For years Sars commissioner Tom Moyane did not act against his second-in-command, who resigned last week. What could have motivated his reluctance?
The departure of Jonas Makwakwa as the head of business & individual taxes at the SA Revenue Service (Sars) marks the end of an era for the tax agency. Sars commissioner Tom Moyane unceremoniously announced Makwakwa’s resignation after he had for more than a year gone to great lengths to shield the man who had effectively become his second-in-command at the revenue service. At a media briefing last week, Moyane admitted that the Makwakwa matter could have been handled differently and in a much better way. But that admission does not absolve Moyane’s conduct. Questions remain as to why he shielded Makwakwa, compromising himself and Sars in the process, for well over a year. Makwakwa, the longest-serving executive at Sars — he was employed at the institution for 22 years — was the only senior executive to survive the far-reaching purge that occurred at the institution during a "restructuring" that took place after Moyane was appointed commissioner in late 2014. This could be the reaso...
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