FILE PICTURE: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – APRIL 03: South African Revenue Services (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane during the revenue’s preliminary collection results announcement on April 03, 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images / Rapport / Deon Raath)
Auditor-general Kimi Makwetu has reportedly given Tom Moyane, the commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (Sars), an ultimatum to declare R3 million in bonuses to his executive as irregular expenditure, or Sars will receive a qualified audit opinion.
Scorpio, Daily Maverick’s investigative unit, reports that the bonuses Moyane unilaterally increased and signed off around August 2016 were possible irregular expenditure.
Moyane has attempted to interdict Makwetu from signing the adverse audit opinion, which apparently might be Sars’ first ever qualified audit opinion in recent democratic times. In a new twist to the story, Scorpio reports it has been informed by a well-placed Sars official that Moyane will yield to the auditor-general’s request to classify the money as irregular expenditure.
The bonuses could reportedly cost Moyane his job as the head of Sars in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), as the money amounts to financial misconduct. However, only President Jacob Zuma could fire him, according to a PFMA specialist.
The spokesperson for the auditor-general, Africa Boso, told Scorpio Makwetu would address the issue on Wednesday when he releases the audits of state entities and government departments.
Both Sars and National Treasury had not responded to questions about the executive bonuses.
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