Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela: The incalculable debt SA owes Judge Nugent

Key topics:Nugent probe exposed SARS sabotage under Moyane, Zuma eraUrgent call led to Moyane’s removal, preventing agency collapseKieswetter restored SARS, reversing damage and boosting revenue.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela*.Does society ever venture to pause, and reflect on the commendable work retired judge Robert Nugent did for South Africa and its democracy – and its people to avoid a catastrophe that would have resulted if the South African Revenue Service (SARS) were to be rendered dysfunctional by self-serving government senior officials.Eight years ago in 2018, when the country was recovering from the misgovernance of former president Jacob Zuma’s administration, with a shift of authority vested in President Cyril Ramaphosa, Nugent was appointed by Ramaphosa to chair a Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance by the South African Revenue Service to probe shenanigans that were weakening the performance of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).Between 2014 and 2018, Zuma had entrusted the management of SARS to Tom Moyane, his long-time ally who shared the ANC underground operations in Mozambique during their time in exile – a period spanning the 1970s through the 1980s. .Read more:.Minister Simelane under fire: R34bn housing budget defended amid fraud probe and political storm.Nugent’s interim report of 2018 helped the country to get a worthy public servant – to run with skill, determination, professionalism, and integrity, the beleaguered affairs of SARS.Nugent, at the conclusion of the interim report, discerned that SARS’s administration was being weaponised for political ends.With that in mind, and organisational red flags flashing, Nugent did not hesitate to alert Ramaphosa’s of impending woes, warning that if the president failed to act swiftly to remove Moyane, the revenue collection agency would be compromised and headed to irreparable administrative damage, with unlawful practices replacing proper accounting practices.For Nugent, South Africa deserved better. As a seasoned and ethical judge, his loyalty was not to Ramaphosa; it was to the Constitution, law, and the country. So, he used his broad legal expertise to save South Africa’s revenue collection agency from being ravaged by unscrupulous practices - advising Ramaphosa to act judiciously in the best interest of the country – which was to remove Moyane from SARS.The revenue service is a lifeblood of the country. Its implosion would be undesirable. If allowed, it would have detrimental effects on the economy which would impact negatively on communities, especially the poor.Its main function is to provide revenue for government expenditure, thereby enabling the state to deliver essential services such as schools, hospitals, old-age pension grants, child grants, and infrastructure, among others, to communities. In the hands of unscrupulous government executives, the revenue collected would not be secured, and would, in all probability, disappear into pockets of crooked executives, with the tax revenue collected failing to meet the needs of the country. Nugent’s conviction, based on evidence before him, foresaw the flashing red flags, and impending dangers, and dutifully advised Ramaphosa not to have to wait for the final report. He must take action immediately, based on what the interim report had revealed.Nugent, appointed in May 2018 by Ramaphosa, was emphatic that Moyane’s immediate replacement would serve as the first step towards the restoration of the tax collection agency.Moyeni’s counsel, Advocate Dali Mpofu, SC, did not take kindly to Nugent’s words. He threatened to interdict the continuation of the Commission’s fact-gathering process, but Nugent was unshaken by threats.Emphatically, he hit back, “no Mpofu’s threats would torpedo the hearing legitimised by the law, and ordered by the President of the country”.He was left with no doubt that under the leadership of Moyeni, SARS was doomed. From hard evidence extracted from witnesses who appeared before his commission, it was apparent the agency was in the wrong hands.The commission established that Moyane’s intention, inspired by commands from the higher echelons of Zuma administration, was to dismantle “specialised investigative units and remove experienced management, turning a “world-class organisation upside down”, as well as allowing illegal trade to flourish, and causing billions in tax revenue loss.The final report was scathing. It stated that Moyeni “arrived without integrity and then dismantled the elements of governance one by one”. Four years later, the Zondo Commission, releasing its own report in 2022, like the Nugent report before it, placed Zuma at the centre of state capture, and accused him of his commitment to dismantling the smooth functioning of the tax collection agency by having appointed Moyane in 2014 “to weaken the institution”.The Zondo report, without pulling punches, stated that Zuma collaborated with Moyane and Bain & Company to “restructure the tax authority, resulting in the exodus of skilled staff and the crippling of investigative capabilities to protect himself and his allies”.Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting, became embroiled in the repurposing scandal of SARS, and were implicated in the hollowing-out of revenue collecting agencies related to the state capture project in which Zuma and Moyane were allegedly implicated. Following the election of Ramaphosa as ANC president in December 2017, the ANC national executive committee recalled Zuma as the country’s president.With the president facing a looming parliamentary vote of no confidence, and the possibility of impeachment, Zuma tendered his resignation in February 2018.On February 14, 2018, Zuma was replaced by Ramaphosa, ending nearly 10 years presidential tenure marred by controversies and allegations of malfeasance and corruption. Some of Nugent’s recommendations to save SARS from implosion included, among others, the restoration of capable independent leadership, good governance, as well as the modernisation of the SARS’ operational systems – including the improvement of efficiency and services to taxpayers.Moyane and his counsel had sought to discredit Nugent's findings, describing them as a product of a “biased, predetermined kangaroo court”. Newly appointed Edward Kieswetter, who replaced Moyane after a short interregnum, with stand-in Mark Kingon holding the fort, had a fair share of criticism and abuse by those who were politically aligned to Moyane. Kieswetter's tenure at SARS, which started in May 2019, is expected to end on April 30. EFF leader Julius Malema, without evidence to support his wild claim, alleged Kieswetter’s appointment was characterised by nepotism, mistakenly claiming that former finance minister, Trevor Manuel, who presided over a panel to appoint a SARS commissioner, was related to him.A campaign of character-assassination to impugn his name did not end there: the EFF gang concocted another fib, alleging, without proof, that Kieswetter was a “doggy character” inclined to acting “clandestinely” and “corruptly”.But when Kieswetter finally leaves his post, his head will be covered in a halo – and the country will be grateful for the impeccable service he offered. .Read more:.South Africa’s unjust laws: Calls for reform to prioritise real crime prevention – Woode-Smith.His task, which appeared insurmountable, was to repair the hollowed-out SARS administration.With grit, determination and requisite skills, Kieswetter has restored to the organisation its past lost glory.In his interim report, Nugent said: “The day Mr Moyane took office was a calamity for SARS…the replacement of Moyane will by no means by itself restore SARS but it is a non-negotiable prerequisite for the process of recovery to begin…” Keiswetter has answered the call. The country needs not only to thank Nugent for his wise and courageous intervention and counsel to Ramaphosa, but also be grateful to Kieswetter for living up to expectations – helping to place SARS on sound footing. Under his leadership, the blows of a staggering R50-billion deficit suffered under Moyane’s tenure have been softened.Kieswetter can now join Nugent in deserved retirement..*Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela is freelance journalist, a former media trade unionist, and an Anglican priest

Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela: The incalculable debt SA owes Judge Nugent

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