“Some call it bootlegging. Some call it racketeering. I call it a business.”
Mafia boss Al Capone, who ran the most profitable crime syndicate of the US prohibition era, said this because he was aggrieved that his criminal enterprise had earned a bad reputation.
It is not unusual for supervillains to complain of unfair treatment.
It is also common for crooks to find innovative ways to justify their deeds and convince people that others are perpetrating worse evils.
We are living through an incredible period as epic power battles play out and massive corruption in the state is progressively exposed.
The latest episode is the commission of inquiry into administration and governance at SARS, headed by Judge Robert Nugent.
On the face of it, this might look like a shootout between two camps trying to control the tax agency. It is not.
This is about the credibility of a critical institution, its capture by criminal enterprises and the link to senior political figures.Advocate Dali Mpofu SC appeared before the inquiry on Friday, calling it an “unmitigated sham and a farce”.
He made a spirited argument on behalf of suspended SARS commissioner Tom Moyane that the commission be halted and all evidence presented expunged.
“This is one of the grossest and most unfair processes I’ve ever witnessed under this democracy,” Mpofu said.
He objected to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, who was previously SARS commissioner and finance minister, having been the first witness, and said that other former SARS officials who gave evidence had “a huge axe to grind”.
It is no surprise that Moyane is incensed by the evidence presented. Former chief operations officer Barry Hore told the inquiry that the country lost at least R142-billion in uncollected tax during the time Moyane was in charge of the tax authority.
Former chief officer for enforcement Gene Ravele told how SARS’s capacity to conduct criminal investigations and prosecutions was destroyed.
He said an instruction was issued by Moyane’s former deputy, Jonas Makwakwa, for all inspections of cigarette companies to be halted.
Apart from being painted by his former subordinates as power-drunk, compromised and unpleasant, Moyane’s house of cards built on the existence of a “rogue spy unit” at SARS has collapsed.
His laying of charges against Gordhan relating to the approval of former SARS deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay’s retirement also proved to be baseless - as evidenced by a legal opinion he himself commissioned.
It would be one thing if Moyane, through Mpofu, were demanding the right to immediately present his version of events to the inquiry. It is in the commission’s interest to hear all sides.
But Moyane wants the process scrapped entirely, meaning the judge should not even hear the competing narrative. Why is this?
There is still much more to be revealed, including how people in the criminal underworld had power over Moyane and his backers in the shadows.This evidence will have serious implications. It will expose a web that involved the highest office in government, as well as some people opposition benches.
Once this information is in the public domain, it will not be difficult to join the dots between funding and political agendas.
It promises to be a messy business. It is possible there will be further attempts to question the credibility of the inquiry, the agenda of President Cyril Ramaphosa in establishing it, and those who gave evidence.
However, considering the importance of SARS to the functioning of the state, the core purpose of the inquiry should not be missed.
It has to look at, among other things, SARS’s governance and operating models, whether its procedures were compromised by favouring or discriminating against “prominent influential persons”, and whether criminal transgressions were concealed or ignored.
Considering the tax undercollection and the implications for the fiscus, it is in everyone’s interest that the commission not be turned into a mockery, and that problem areas be identified and remedied.
Such inquiries take place around the world to improve the effectiveness of tax agencies in the and identify loopholes that allow people to dodge their tax obligations.
In his submission, Pillay made a number of recommendations to improve the functioning of SARS and to restore its integrity. These included a “rational, independent and open process” to appoint the SARS commissioner, which should include vetting by an ad hoc parliamentary committee. He recommended proper accountability to the minister of finance.
Pillay said there should also be requirements for the exchange of information and co-operation between state agencies, to combat illicit money flows.
Even Capone, who went to jail for tax evasion, knew there are innate problems with the tax system. “They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money,” he said.
State capture did not only involve the Guptas, and undoing the legacy of a deliberately corrupted system is complex...