Mbeki will not comment on claims he knew of SARS ‘rogue spy unit’

Former President Thabo Mbeki will not comment on media reports alleging that when he served as president he knew about the so-called South African Revenue Service (SARS) “rogue spy unit”‚ the Thabo Mbeki Foundation said on Thursday.

“President Mbeki will not comment on these allegations for a number of reasons. These include the fact that no organ of state has formally briefed him about the allegations‚” the foundation said in a statement.

“It would therefore be unwise for him to comment on allegations which may not be intended to advance the necessary objective of building strong and credible state institutions‚” it added.

“Suffice it to say that the abiding socio-economic challenges that our country faces are glaringly obvious and well known to all of us. They require the focused attention of all sectors of our leadership as indeed all South Africans.

“Taking our eyes off the challenges‚ dragging one another’s names in the mud‚ creating all manner of scarecrows and absurd theatrical sideshows will not help our country – our rhetoric notwithstanding‚” the foundation stated.