Sars denies wasting money

Cape Town - The South African Revenue Service (Sars) on Tuesday dismissed Democratic Alliance claims of "problems with management".

"Sars has a proud history of acting against corrupt practices where they have occurred and have taken the strongest action where this was appropriate, including the dismissal of senior staff," Sars said in a statement.

Earlier, DA finance spokesperson Dion George said he had received information from a former senior employee at Sars "detailing a series of problems with the management of the institution".

Sars had enjoyed praise and the public's trust due to its efficiency and good work over the past few years, but the information received "paints a worrying picture of a growing culture of mismanagement, leading to wasteful and fruitless expenditure", he said.

This included:

• The purchase of 60 4X4s for the use of customs officials, but which were left unused for months because of a lack of qualified drivers;
• A visit to China customs by Sars officials, the merits of which were never discussed within the executive committee;
• The termination of an IT contract in the middle of programme development, which was then awarded to a lesser known firm of consultants;
• The abandoning of the development of two performance management systems, despite payments to consultants to put these in place, and the lack of rigorous processes for making property investment decisions.

In its statement, Sars said George was an MP and a member of the standing committee on finance which exercised oversight on the work of Sars and its finances.

"Through this position, Dr George has a number of avenues or channels at his disposal through which to raise allegations about corruption or improper conduct in a way that is far more constructive than allegations that are contained in a media statement, that are untested and that probably emanate from questionable sources," it said.

These channels included the relevant parliamentary committee and parliamentary or direct questions to the Minister of Finance or his office, the President's office, the Auditor General or the commissioner of Sars.

"Sars believes the Auditor General is the appropriate and designated authority to issue an opinion on how Sars conducts its affairs - including its operations, finances and governance.

"Sars' track record in this regard speaks for itself and is illustrated in successive unqualified audits from the AG, as per various Sars annual reports.

"Should any member of the public have any evidence of corruption or mismanagement, Sars would welcome such information," it said.

- Sapa