No qualified personnel for top BURS post
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Friday February 21, 2020 16:03
The post has been vacant since December 2018 following the departure of Keneilwe Morris. Morris has not been replaced with a substantive head. Before he left, Morris had been at the helm of the tax agency for about eight years following his appointment in 2010. Segolo Lekau succeeded him on an acting basis. This week, some Members of Parliament (MP) were unimpressed with the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Dr Thapelo Matsheka’s response that they are unable to identify a suitable candidate to fill the post.
Matsheka said the position has been advertised twice, first in September 2018 and then again in December 2019.
“During both periods of advertisement the recruitment exercise did not yield candidates responsive to the criteria outlined. As a result, the position is due for advertisement for the third time but on a wider scale, during this month,” he said.
Matsheka said the performance of the 2014-2019 Strategic Plan could not be attributed to the Acting Commissioner General because he was only responsible for the execution of the same for a period of less than six months.
He said the absence of a substantive Commissioner General would not affect the operational performance targets as BURS expects to meet its revenue target set for the 2019/20 financial year. That is attributable to oversight measures put in place to ensure efficiency, which are continuously reviewed.
On the collection targets, he stated that for the year ending March 2018, it was P40.714 billion while the actual collection for the year in question was P41.204 billion. He stated this the actual tax collection for the 2017/18 exceeded that for 2015/16, which was P35.355 billion by 15.2%.
However, MP for Sefhare/Ramokgonami Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang said it was worrisome that someone could be allowed to act for such a long time without being appointed substantively. He said the situation shows that there is no proper succession plan at government institutions. He accused the ruling party of politicising top positions of all parastatals and appointing personnel along party lines.
“I can’t understand why you can’t fill the position. I know you are looking to give it to your fellow BDP members. You have done it before,” said Gobotswang.
Matsheka’s response followed a question from MP for Molepolole North Oabile Regoeng who asked the minister to state how long the position of Commissioner General at BURS has been vacant and why it is taking long to fill the vacancy. Regoeng had also asked the minister to explain the extent of adverse impact if any, the absence of the substantive Commissioner General has had on the strategic plan implementation and the operational performance of the revenue services. He also wanted the tax collection targets for the year ending March 2018, the actual collection; and how the actual collection compares to those financial years 2015/16 and 2016/17.