Fin24 reports that new SA Revenue Service (Sars) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has been accused of corruption in the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), the board of which he chairs.
According to a Sunday Times report, TIA ex-CEO Barlow Manilal, whose contract was terminated a year early by the board last month, has issued a 22-page complaint about the tax agency boss to Blade Nzimande, minister of higher education, science and technology. The TIA falls under Nzimande's department and is a national public entity with a focus on technology development. Kieswetter allegedly "bullied and hounded" Manilal during his tenure as chair. Manilal also claimed that Kieswetter tried to set up a profitable coaching contract for a friend of his, and that he insisted on flying business class – although this was against the TIA's policy – by claiming it was for an unspecified medical condition. The complaint, on which a legal challenge against Manilal's axing is based, was released under the Protected Disclosures Act. Manilal's dismissal is set to be taken up by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). If the CCMA does not resolve it, it will be escalated to the Labour Court. Kieswetter, for his part, has vehemently dismissed the claims and has called the accusations an "attack on my integrity and therefore my suitability for the position I hold as commissioner of SARS".
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24
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