Programme Director
Finance Minister, Mr Pravin Gordhan
Deputy Minister of Finance
Mr Nhlanhla Nene
SARS Commissioner
Mr Oupa Magashula
Officials
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It's a pleasure to join you this evening at this special award evening to honour and acknowledge performance of the highest standard in the service of the South African public.
We have come together to celebrate the achievements of the South African Revenue Service and its people.
There are some who view the public sector as little more than an inefficient bureaucracy bereft of talent, skill, passion and integrity.
The finalists and winners we honour here tonight are definitive and compelling evidence to the contrary!
We accept that public sector institutions face formidable challenges to meet the legitimate expectations of service delivery and development that are afforded by our Constitution.
But nearly all South Africans can acknowledge and appreciate the contribution that SARS makes towards building and strengthening our democracy.
Indeed, alongside those singled out tonight for deserving praise and recognition, exist many thousands of passionate, principled, talented and honest public servants committed to the ideals of our Constitution and the delivery of a better life for all our citizens.
The 15 000 women and men of SARS are at the forefront of these nation-builders.
It is no flattery or exaggeration to single out the South African Revenue Service as one of the most efficient, effective, highly regarded, fair and trusted institutions of state over a prolonged and sustained period.
This confidence in SARS by South Africans spanning the entire spectrum of our society is a vital ingredient in the progress of our country and in our future as a nation.
For without this faith and trust in SARS, our ability as a government to finance our programme of action in meeting the needs of our people would be seriously undermined.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Over the past decade, SARS has collected a staggering R4.9 trillion to fund our growth and development.
The fruits of these funds are visible all around us – from the gleaming Gautrain to the world-class stadiums which in just a short space of time have become landmarks on South Africa’s skyline, to the state-of-the-art hospitals which provide cutting edge health care.
We have funded our schools, roads and other socio-economic infrastructure which provides a foundation for our future growth and prosperity.
It is imperative for SARS to maintain its independence, its values, its moral authority and its objectivity.
You must continue to act without fear or favour in ensuring the full compliance with the law by each and every South African – irrespective of who they are or what office they may hold.
We cannot and will not tolerate anyone – from within government or outside of government, from within SARS or outside of SARS – to denigrate the hard-won reputation you have built as a credible, objective, apolitical and non-partisan institution of state.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The ability to collect revenue from citizens – both individuals and corporate – to finance the provision of public services and the running of the state, is one of the key defining features of a capable state.
As we have seen recently, countries that cannot fund themselves or repay their debts are at the mercy of donors, creditors and international organisations with their own often narrow agendas and self interest.
Indeed, one of the features that differentiate South Africa from many countries, on the continent and elsewhere, is our ability to fund our own destiny.
Last month, Italy - Europe’s third largest economy - became the latest casualty in the sovereign debt crisis that has engulfed the euro zone for more than a year. The crisis has resulted in bailouts from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for Greece, Italy and Portugal.
This has cast a gloomy shadow on the rest of the globe. What are the implications for South Africa?
With the global economy still emerging from the financial crisis, there remain many sources of uncertainty and many risks to the economic outlook.
For these reasons, our government will continue to implement a package of policies that improves our resilience to global uncertainty, whatever the source.
The ability of a country to borrow from capital markets is linked to its capacity to collect taxes.
Even though our budget deficit and debt levels are much lower than many countries in the developed world, the events in the Euro zone illustrate the dangers associated with allowing large fiscal imbalances to develop.
Sustainable debt management requires a combination of policies that include fiscal prudence, improved efficiency of government expenditure, faster economic growth and sustainable revenue yield.
Ladies and gentlemen,
SARS has an exceptional record of revenue collection. This has made our country almost unique amongst developing countries, both in terms of our fiscal independence and in terms of the strong growth in tax compliance every year.
In pursuing its mandate SARS supports the higher purpose to build a compliant society and building institutional respectability.
The transformation of SARS over the past 15 years – under the leadership of Minister Gordhan and Minister Manuel – into a highly professional, efficient and performance-driven organisation has been a pivotal success factor in our country’s social and economic development since the birth of democracy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is Women’s Month and just 10 days ago we celebrated the 55th anniversary of the historic day in 1956, when women of all races marched to the Union Buildings in protest against discrimination and oppression.
On that day, 20 000 women stood up to the apartheid regime and demanded basic human rights for themselves and all South Africa’s women.
As government we have identified 12 priorities if we are to meet the needs of our people and to fulfil that call 55 years ago for human rights for all our people.
These 12 priority areas focus on a wide range of government activities but SARS has a unique opportunity to play a vital role and contribute to all of our priorities.
You do this by providing a sustainable, sure and steady flow of revenue to fund our actions and initiatives at national, provincial and local government level.
But the funding you help collect for these initiatives and indeed all of government’s work – is only one part of meeting the challenges we face as a country.
SARS and other organs of state also have a key role to play in creating an environment conducive to job creation. This includes facilitating entrepreneurship and easing the entry into the formal economy by small business.
In addition, as a key role-player in securing South Africa’s borders, the Customs division at SARS has a vital part to play in simultaneously facilitating legitimate trade and in keeping out unwanted goods which pose a threat to our local businesses and our people.
There is a further important role for SARS to play in our country.
SARS plays an important role in the fight against fraud and corruption, through working with enforcement agencies in rooting out non-compliance.
We cannot allow this scourge to divert our limited resources away from the people who need them the most. Neither can we allow corruption to undermine the faith of our people that their hard-earned tax money is being spent efficiently, effectively and with integrity.
At the heart of tax compliance is a social compact between taxpayers and the state. Corruption is one of the greatest threats to this social compact.
Our role as government is to live up to the faith which our people have placed on us to spend this money wisely in providing for the needs of all our country’s people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
These challenges we face as a country cannot be addressed by government alone.
It requires us to work together, in partnership between the public and private sector, between labour and business, between government departments themselves.
I am encouraged and inspired that so many of tonight’s finalists reflect this cooperation and collaboration.
Their accomplishments range from work done in ensuring the success of last year’s FIFA World Cup, assisting and empowering other government agencies and working with taxpayer and trader organisations to ensure a smoother, swifter service for them.
The stories and citations of the finalists and winners of tonight’s Amakhwezi Awards show that South Africa is succeeding!
They tell a story of extraordinary courage and commitment. They tell a story of integrity and honesty passion and dedication and self-sacrifice in the service of the people of South Africa. That is the very essence of Batho Pele.
They tell a story of an organisation and its people who hold fast to the values which every South African should all aspire to – honesty, integrity, hard work, objectivity and equality.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the finalists and winners for their contribution to our achievements as a country and for being an example to all South Africans.
Your actions – and those of your colleagues throughout SARS – give hope to a nation!
Ningamakhwezi oMnyango wokuqoqa iNtela e Mzansi Afrika! You are the stars of SARS and of South Africa.
By your actions you are lighting the way for us all.
I thank you.
