In a move that can only be described as trying to save face, the SA Revenue Service (SARS) has reinstated two employees it fired more than five years ago when they raised issues about the ill-fated Bain restructuring process that brought the agency to its knees.
Hope Mashilo and Tshebeletso Seremane’s lives were turned into a living hell under the tenure of former SARS commissioner Tom Moyane. This after their positions were downgraded after the 2015 restructuring process, which saw the two women ordered to accept positions that were not in the approved new structure introduced by Bain.
When they did not accept the seemingly non-existent positions, they were dismissed from the agency. They have since been fighting to get their jobs back.
They were relieved in August when the Labour Court in Johannesburg ruled that their dismissals were unfair. The presiding judge, Smanga Sethene, went further and said Mashilo had been a whistleblower who spoke up about the hiring of Bain by Moyane.
However, SARS under current commissioner Edward Kieswetter appealed the judgment, but the leave for appeal was shot down by Sethene for its lack of seriousness.
Kieswetter, who was appointed to the role in 2019, in a statement tried to downplay the plight of Mashilo and Seremane.
“In this particular matter, I had to balance carefully the interests of the affected individuals to bring them back to SARS with dignity, whilst at the same time protect the institution and sustain what it stands for as a strategic national asset,” he said.
“In treading this fine line, some commentators read into my caution that I was defending Mr Moyane, the erstwhile commissioner, thus reinforcing the effects of SARS capture.
“As I have often stated before, I am beholden to nobody. I defend the institution and not the individuals who captured it. SARS and I will continue to do so and execute the SARS mandate without fear, prejudice and bias.
“This is a complex matter and involves the interests of two former employees who were adversely affected by the actions of a SARS leadership intent on capturing SARS. In such a situation, not only were the former employees adversely affected by the erstwhile commissioner of SARS, but SARS too became a victim of capture.”
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, in his role as the chairperson of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, in January threw the gauntlet at former president Jacob Zuma, accusing him of capturing SARS with the assistance Moyane.
Zondo heard evidence of how Moyane was promised the position of SARS commissioner by Zuma well in advance of his formal appointment, and that Bain met Zuma and Moyane before they had even been appointed as third-party consultants to SARS.
Bain was employed by Moyane to establish a restructuring model of the revenue service division at a cost of R164-million.
The Nugent Commission, which looked into the near-collapse of SARS, has also put the blame at the door of Moyane and Bain for dismantling key units in SARS. The agency under Kieswetter has since restablished most of the key units dismantled under Moyane.
Moyane was appointed in 2014 as SARS boss, replacing Ivan Pillay, who acted in the position after the resignation of former commissioner Oupa Magashula.
The Treasury in September said it had banned Bain for 10 years for tendering for public sector contracts.
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