POLITICS LIVE: The war between Gordhan and Moyane lights up
A less courteous observer might have suggested that Moyane was doing his best to cover up and stymie the investigation and that he could no longer be trusted
As political clashes go, there can be fewer more damaging to the country than that between Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the head of SARS, Tom Moyane. South Africa's credibility in the financial markets hangs by a thin string - the view that it has the "institutional" wherewithal to hold steady despite its volatile politics. The battle between Gordhan and Moyane threatens to blow a hole through that credibility. The root of the problem is simple: Moyane wants SARS to operate independently of the finance ministry, overseen only by President Jacob Zuma. He has resisted every move made by the Treasury to bring SARS into some sort of relationship of accountability, including refusing to reconsider his plans to "restructure" the agency despite the objections of the finance minister. It is hard to disagree with the argument that government's revenue collection agency ought to be part of the Treasury machinery. How - and how much - tax is collected is fundamental to the country's fi...
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