South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Edward Kieswetter, as head of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) with the primary task of rebuilding skills and trust in the tax authority after a commission of inquiry found the previous permanent commissioner had effectively “dismantled” the institution through mismanagement and alleged corruption. He starts at SARS on May 1.
Kieswetter was appointed after a committee named by Ramaphosa shortlisted six candidates, including Deloitte LPP’s head of tax in Africa, Nazrien Kader, and Mark Kingon, who took over as acting commissioner following the suspension and later dismissal of Tom Moyane.
“Kieswetter emerged as the strongest candidate, based on his past experience as deputy commissioner for SARS between 2004 and 2009,” the Treasury said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
During his time at Alexander Forbes, Kieswetter oversaw the company’s return to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2014. He was also a senior general manager at Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the state-owned power utility, from 1992 until 2000.
