SARS bosses must stop acting as enforcers of state capture
The Save South Africa campaign is deeply disturbed by ongoing attempts to resuscitate trumped-up charges against former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. The latest example of this is the persecution of SARS whistleblower Vlok Symington, who is clearly being punished for refusing to manipulate evidence around Gordhan’s relationship with the so-called SARS Rogue Unit.
The fact that Symington today had to apply to court for protection from the head of SARS shows how desperate the enforcers of the captured state are to try and find something against Gordhan – anything -- that will stick.
Symington should be commended for standing his ground and adopting an ethical and lawful approach to the handling of confidential documentation, and for refusing to participate in the manipulation of evidence. As a result, he is being persecuted by SARS commissioner Tom Moyane, who is increasingly emerging as a tool of state capture rather than the custodian of revenue collection.
The fact that a whistleblower like Symington has had to apply to the High Court for protection from Moyane speaks volumes about the politicization of SARS by its captured leaders and its increasing role in protecting the architects of state capture. It also reinforces the need to ensure that South Africa implements its legal framework in which whistleblowers are protected, rather than being pursued, persecuted and punished.
South Africa should be deeply concerned at what is being exposed about SARS, and the role being played in enforcing state capture by leaders of the revenue services.