Former Sars commissioner Oupa Magashula. File Photo
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday lauded former South African Revenue Service (Sars) Commissioner Oupa Magashula, who died after a long illness, for ably leading the agency as the country grappled with the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Magashula’s family announced late on Wednesday that he had died, aged 63, after an extended period of illness and hospitalisation.
“He led Sars at a critical period during which our economy was affected by the global downturn of 2008, but during which we also relied on fiscal resources to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Oupa Magashula was an astute, compassionate leader whose mission at Sars was driven by the needs of the most vulnerable South Africans and the requirements for economic growth.”
Magashula resigned as Sars commissioner in 2013 after an investigative report found that he had acted improperly during a recruitment process at the revenue service.
While the inquiry by a committee set up to investigate the matter found no evidence that Magashula had committed a crime, the report said that he had been “much less frank with the committee than the committee would have expected of the person who had the integrity essential to his position” and placed the reputation and credibility of Sars at risk.