President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday commended the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for raising US$100 billion in the past year, saying it had hit its highest margins in years.
SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter announced recently that the revenue collector had recorded a 25 percent increase in collections – reaching at least US$100 billion in revenue collection between April 2021 and March this year.
Writing in his weekly message, Ramaphosa said this was proof that efficient and well-run state institutions could bolster trust between government and citizens.
“As we forge ahead with efforts to strengthen the capacity of the state and rebuild institutions that were systematically weakened by state capture, we have much to learn from what SARS has achieved in a relatively short space of time,” Ramaphosa said.
He added: “When state institutions are well-run and efficient, when they demonstrate credibility and fairness in their operations, they contribute to increasing levels of trust in government.”
He reflected on a challenging period that the revenue collector faced, including allegations of state capture, “political meddling and mismanagement” which had rendered SARS inefficient and ineffective.
“This had the direct consequence of not only undermining taxpayer morality, but also loss of business confidence in the organisation,” he added.
NM/jn/APA