Picture: GALLO IMAGES/FOTO24/CORNEL VAN HEERDEN
Picture: GALLO IMAGES/FOTO24/CORNEL VAN HEERDEN

FINANCE Minister Pravin Gordhan must act to prevent a full-scale "civil war" breaking out between himself and Tom Moyane‚ the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS)‚ the Democratic Party says.

DA spokesman on finance David Maynier said Mr Moyane had reportedly sought a legal opinion on the powers of the minister to intervene in the planned restructuring of SARS and had received a copy of KPMG’s final report on an alleged SARS "rogue unit" on or about December 4.

"The Minister should act to cool the temperature and prevent a full-scale ‘civil war’ by immediately taking steps to resolve the uncertainty surrounding the restructuring of SARS and ensuring the KPMG’s final report on the SARS ‘rogue unit’ is made public‚" Mr Maynier said.

He added that Mr Gordhan could not afford to create the impression that he had something to hide when it came to the SARS "rogue unit".

"The Minister should therefore support‚ and be seen to be supporting‚ making the KPMG’s final report on the SARS ‘rogue unit’ public.

"I will‚ therefore‚ write to Yunus Carrim‚ Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance‚ requesting him to schedule a briefing by the Minister of Finance‚ Pravin Gordhan‚ on his approach to the challenges facing the South African Revenue Service‚" stated Mr Maynier.

SA simply could not afford a full-scale ‘civil war’ between the Mr Gordhan and Mr Moyane‚ Mr Maynier added.

The Sunday Times reported last year that a covert unit established by SARS had spied on President Jacob Zuma and run a brothel.

The report of an investigation by advocate Muzi Sikhakhane into the alleged covert unit recommended that the inspector-general of intelligence or a judicial commission conduct further inquiries into the matter.

According to the report‚ the unit had printed fake SARS identity cards‚ bugged and traced vehicles‚ conducted surveillance of individuals‚ and its members had disguised themselves as drivers to political figures.

TMG Digital