Tom Moyane, who has overseen the disembowelment of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) since he was appointed SARS commissioner in September 2014, has come out guns blazing at a press conference in Pretoria on Monday. He launched a full broadside attack at KPMG, the audit firm that on Friday disavowed its report into the so-called "rogue unit", a myth which has been been dispelled everywhere except at SARS.
Moyane opened the press conference detailing how he became aware of KPMG's decision.
He then went on to slam KPMG, merely arguing that he wasn't notified of its plans to withdraw the report.
Moyane argued that SARS is now the owner of the report and as such it will seemingly remain a report with standing within the organisation. This is odd, given the fact that the forensic team that worked on it has said it doesn't carry any weight anymore.
Moyane wants to go to court. If that ever comes to pass you can bet your last Gupta-rand that the firm will go to war with all the dirty detail about how the investigation was allegedly stage-managed by SARS.
Yep. Moyane seems to think that the best way to allay criticism is to go on the attack.
Since Moyane has arrived at SARS, more than 55 senior managers and group executives have left the taxman. Former minister of finance, Pravin Gordhan, has said that it is clear the people at SARS don't know what they're doing. Plus, Moyane's SARS has gone out of their way to accommodate the Guptas, including facilitating a R70-million tax refund.
Moyane and SARS will be going all-out against KPMG.
Both the Sikhakhane Report and the Kroon Board have been shown to have major defects in their investigations and subsequent reports. But Moyane continues to rely on them. He needs to keep the "rogue unit" narrative alive.
Moyane hit back at former SARS staffers, who over the weekend said the withdrawal of the KMPG report vindicates them.
Moyane will not back down.
Exactly. Moyane will do everything in his power to keep the story alive. It seems the only way in which we will ever get clarity is if the issue goes to court.
Moyane has consistently avoided answering direct questions about the reports and the 'rogue unit'.
This is a good summary. Moyane gets away, again.
Moyane will live and die by the KPMG report because, even as flawed as it is, it enables him to stick to his guns and to keep SARS captured.
Professor Pierre de Vos rips up the Sikhkhane report, the basis of KPMG's investigations into the so-called "rogue unit".
Moyane tries to put distance between himself and what came before KMPG.
It is a complicated and convoluted story. Keep your wits about you!
KPMG also did the forensic work into Schabir Shaik, President Jacob Zuma's original benefactor, who was convicted of numerous counts of fraud and corruption. These forensic reports will again be scrutinised should Zuma be charged. You can already see where this is headed...
The story is now global... over the weekend it made the front-page of the Financial Times, Reuters immediately picked it up.