Adrian Lackay's CCMA Case Against Sars Continues

The former spokesperson is claiming constructive dismissal. He previously revealed Tom Moyane's "tacit approval" of the alleged rogue unit.
The Cape Town headquarters of the South African Revenue Service.
The Cape Town headquarters of the South African Revenue Service.
Mike Hutchings / Reuters

Former South African Revenue Service (Sars) spokesperson Adrian Lackay's case against the service at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) is expected to continue in Johannesburg on Monday.

Lackay has laid a case against Sars for constructive dismissal.

During his previous appearances at the CCMA building in Johannesburg, Lackay revealed a lot of what went on behind the scenes when Sars commissioner Tom Moyane first started the job in the midst of the onslaught of the rogue unit debacle in 2014 and 2015.

Lackay, who had worked at Sars for 11 years, said his working conditions became unbearable amid allegations of the rogue unit's existence and that he was forced to leave after it became untenable to associate himself with the goings-on at the revenue service. He resigned in February 2015.

In January, when Lackay first gave evidence, the CCMA boardroom was filled with journalists. But as the weeks passed and big national events eclipsed proceedings, the number of journalists dwindled.

What they and the public missed were Lackay's revelations that not only did Moyane not fight back against the rogue unit allegations but he "tacitly approved them".

Lackay went a step further, saying that Moyane's right-hand man at the time, acting chief operating officer Jonas Makwakwa, said at a Government Communication and Information System meeting that Lackay was a problem in the communication department at Sars because he was denying that a rogue unit existed. Makwakwa was suspended after it emerged that there were suspicious transactions on his bank account.

Lackay said Moyane changed offices, making himself inaccessible and that he (Lackay) was increasingly being left out of the loop on important events at Sars, such as the suspension of deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay, at a time when, as the spokesperson of the organisation, the media were bombarding him with questions. - News24

Close

What's Hot