Gigaba to seek legal opinion on removing Myeni as SAA chair

Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said he will get legal counsel about his decision to extend SAA chairperson Dudu Myeni’s tenure until the airline’s AGM in November.

Myeni’s contract ended at the end of August, but Gigaba extended it. However, committee members said Myeni’s extended contract was irregular because it had not been approved by Cabinet and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) had not been informed of the extension as it is legally required to do.

Gigaba told parliament’s standing committee on finance that he will measure his legal opinion against that of parliament’s opinion, which views it as possibly illegal.

“We will seek our own legal counsel on the chair and take the necessary action,” Gigaba said. “We acted on the basis on a legal opinion in the first place. We will go back to check the legal opinion we received against the legal opinion of the parliament.”

However, ANC MP Derek Hanekom said that is was very easy to see that the appointment was illegal and contravened SAA’s memorandum of incorporation (MOI). “My own reading of the MOI is that it appears … that it may well have been an illegal appointment,” the former tourism minister said.

“So we will appreciate the minister to look very carefully, even if you look at the provisions yourself – it is quite short. It will lead one very quickly to determine if it was legal or not.”  

There is no civil war or purge at National Treasury – Gigaba

“There is no civil war,” Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba told Parliament’s standing committee on finance on Wednesday. “None whatsoever exists. The rumours in the media are precisely what they are – rumours.

“The acting chief procurement officer (Schalk Human) had himself on regular occasions requested to be relieved for the job. He had not even applied for the job.

“There is no malice towards him.

“The acting head of the IMFS was drawn from another responsibility. She was 50% on each responsibility. When challenges are arising about how IFMS is being implemented. She then comes under unfair criticism.

“Beside the perceptions out there, the minister following due process has every right to make leadership decisions regarding the department.

“It was correct to question them and make sure they are made rationally. There should be no suggestion that the minister has no right to make these decisions.

“There is absolutely no truth that there is a purge taking place at National Treasury. The facts are going to speak for themselves, when the announcements are being made.

“Nobody has resigned from our top management. I have been working with them on a whole range of issues. I demonstrated my bona fide with the appointment of the director general.”  

SARS misses first-quarter tax target by R13bn

The South African Revenue Service missed its first-quarter tax revenue target by R13.1bn, a document tabled at parliament’s standing committee on finance shows.

The overview of revenue collection for the year ended June 30 reveals that SARS collected R275.42bn in the first quarter, R13.1bn lower than its target or printed target (PE).

The massive drop in revenue was mostly due to the following key developments, the report shows:

– SARS collected R1.6bn less import VAT than targeted, which was mainly due to declining contributions in machinery, original equipment components and photographic instruments. 

– SARS collected R5.6bn less personal income tax than targeted, mostly due to lower than expected PAYE of R4.7bn. “The lower than expected PAYE was partly due to the early PAYE payments that were received in March 2017 instead of April 2017,” it explained.

– SARS collected R2.2bn less customs duties than targeted, mostly due to declining contributions in clothing, footwear and cereals.

– SARS collected R0.7bn less VAT refunds as real gross fixed capital formation recorded a slower growth of 1% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter. “Temporary shutdowns by automotive manufacturers for plant upgrades also have a direct impact on exports,” SARS explained.

– SARS collected R0.9bn less in excise duties occurred mostly due to lower collections in cigarettes and tobacco of R1.2bn.SARS collected R2.7bn less corporate income tax, mostly due to a decline in tax payments of R2.4bn and lower assessment payments of R0.4bn.