Cape Town – The newly-appointed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Tuesday met with the South African Revenue Services commissioner Tom Moyane in Pretoria for a “courtesy visit”.
The SA economy has been rattled by the shuffling of the finance portfolio with President Jacob Zuma’s axing of Nhlanhla Nene last Wednesday to replace him with the largely unknown ANC MP David van Rooyen.
However, Zuma's U-turn on his choice of Van Rooyen to Gordhan on Sunday brought some calm to the markets.
Sars spokesperson Sandile Memela told Fin24 that Gordhan paid a “courtesy visit” to the Brooklyn branch in Pretoria on Tuesday.
“He was accompanied by his deputy Mcebisi Jonas at a meeting with Sars commissioner, Tom Moyane and few executive committee members,” Memela said.
He could not provide further details on what was discussed but described the meeting as a “meet and greet session with the old and new leadership”.
Gordhan served as commissioner of Sars for 10 years between 1999 and 2009.
On Monday Gordhan slammed auditing firm KPMG over a leaked report that appeared to confirm allegations regarding a rogue spy unit within Sars.
The draft findings in the leaked report included that Sars “established and administered a covert and rogue intelligence unit” in contravention of the law.
The unit, it said, was established when Gordhan was Sars commissioner, and reported to him.
The unit allegedly illegally monitored and intercepted communication, and illegally bought equipment to do so.
This puts Pravin Gordhan back in charge of #SARS. *that* is going to be interesting on account of war therein.
— Ferial Haffajee (@ferialhaffajee) December 13, 2015
Gordhan said that the allegations had no foundation and that they were based on a leaked document that not even he had seen.
"How would you like to be accused of something on the basis of a document that has not been put to you or... questions that have not been put to you, on the basis of no opportunity having been put to you to say what the facts of the matter are? One thing I would like to request from you is to stop reporting on rumours," he said.