Johnathan Paoli
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has categorically denied claims made by EFF President Julius Malema concerning a ‘secret meeting’ between President Cyril Ramaphosa and Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, in which the President allegedly gave an instruction to persecute the party’s donors.
This follows a wide-ranging media briefing the EFF held concluding its recent 10th birthday celebrations, in which the Commander-in-Chief made certain allegations concerning the financial persecution of both funders and supporters of the EFF by ANC leaders.
According to Malema’s accusations, instructions were given to conduct an investigation into the guests who attended the EFF’s extravagant gala dinner held on the 27 July, in order to determine the nature of the guests’ business interests as well as their tax status in terms of any outstanding amounts.
An unknown individual, named Gerhard Pretorius allegedly had been appointed to spearhead this project for a swift conclusion before the end of the year.
This ties in with previous remarks made by Malema, about the manner in which leaders in the party and their families were personally targeted both by Sars as well as the banking industry in general.
“The banks are weaponised, we are being bullied by banks in SA…the need for a commercial state bank is most urgent, as we are being harassed,” Malema said at the press briefing.
In its response Sars, in a statement, issued on Wednesday said it categorically and strongly denies that any such meeting between Ramaphosa and commissioner Kieswetter took place.
“Kieswetter has on many occasions made it abundantly clear that if there were ever any undue influence on his work, or if he were to be given unlawful instructions by any politician, he would immediately resign his position, rather than undermine his oath of office”.
The Revenue service said it usually maintains isolation from party-politics but it found it necessary to make a response in order to maintain the honour of the office and engage the besmirchment of the institution.
“SARS wishes to remind all law-abiding citizens of the vital role the revenue authority plays in the affairs of the country by collecting revenue to build a capable State in order to address major challenges of poverty, joblessness, inequality and promote the well-being of all South Africans”.
The statement concluded with an emphasis on the legal and unbiased nature of the work being conducted by Sars, and stressed the necessity of institutions that serve citizens and carry out a constitutional mandate, to be left free to carry on their work without any unnecessary political interference.
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