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Treasury vs Sars

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Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Picture: Nasief Manie
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Picture: Nasief Manie

One is a crony, the other not, and Zuma may play his hand regardless of the financial risk to SA, writes Justin Brown

PRAVIN GORDHAN

PROFILE:

Pravin Gordhan is the incumbent South African finance minister, a job he held from 2009 to 2014 before he was appointed minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.

He held this post until December, when he was reappointed finance minister in the middle of the month after the president fired Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him, briefly, with a little-known ANC MP, David “Des” van Rooyen. Van Rooyen’s appointment sent the rand into free fall and there was an international and national outcry that led to Gordhan’s reappointment.

He was the commissioner of the SA Revenue Service (Sars) from 1999 to 2009, the same post that Tom Moyane fills now.

WHAT WILL KEEP HIM IN HIS POSITION:

His track record as Sars commissioner, as well as his tenure as finance minister. During, in particular, his previous stint in charge of Treasury, he built up respect and trust among investors and businesspeople.

President Jacob Zuma would need to be very careful about choosing to side with Moyane and to fire Gordhan, as this would result in a further shock that would add ominously to the events of December and hasten the slide of the economy into the abyss.

WHAT MIGHT GET HIM FIRED:

  • His relationship with Zuma. Gordhan comes across as a fairly independent-minded finance minister, not Zuma’s lackey.
  • The alleged Sars “rogue unit”, which is accused of having used illegal methods to gather information. A KPMG report, commissioned by Moyane, alleges Gordhan was responsible for the unit.
WANNABE Sars commissioner Tom Moyane PHOTO:leon sadiki

TOM MOYANE

PROFILE:

Tom Moyane is the incumbent commissioner of the SA Revenue Service (Sars). He has held the position since September 2014. Prior to his appointment as the Sars boss he was an adviser on the turnaround and security strategies of the State Information Technology Agency.

He is a former national commissioner for the department of correctional services and has also served as chief executive of the government printing works.

He was previously the managing director of Engen Mozambique. Moyane has also worked for the department of trade and industry. He was the chief director for industry and enterprise development there.

WHAT WILL KEEP HIM IN HIS POSITION:

His relationship with Zuma. He is known as a Zuma loyalist. As a result, the president may side with Moyane, regardless of the consequences.

WHAT MIGHT GET HIM FIRED:

  • He is likely to miss the revenue-collection target for the 2016 fiscal year. The projected total tax revenue for the year was R1.081 trillion, but the revised estimate is R11.6 billion short of that total. Government’s tax revenue is vital, given the slowdown in the economy and the risk of a credit rating downgrade – ratings agencies are particularly concerned about the state’s revenue-collection plans.
  • His tenure at Sars has been marked by the purge of a number of top Sars officials, which has disrupted the running of the unit.
  • What also counts against him is that while he was head of correctional services, the department was censured by the Auditor-General.

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