{"id":855940,"date":"2026-04-03T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=855940"},"modified":"2026-04-02T21:46:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:46:25","slug":"kieswetters-replacement-gets-the-thumbs-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/855940\/kieswetters-replacement-gets-the-thumbs-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Kieswetter’s replacement gets the thumbs up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT) has welcomed the appointment of Dr Johnstone Makhubu as the next Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Makhubu as Commissioner of the SARS for a period of five years with effect from 1 May 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makhubu, who was the favourite for the role, is currently serving as SARS Deputy Commissioner for Taxpayer Engagement & Operations, having been appointed in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will succeed Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, whose two-year contract extension ends on 30 April 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The incoming commissioner is a seasoned public and private sector executive with more than 17 years of senior leadership experience spanning tax administration, commercial, finance and operations management,\u201d Ramaphosa said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makhubu has worked in several complex, regulated, and large-scale organisations across industries, including fast-moving consumer goods, mining, power generation, and public revenue services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His appointment follows a unanimous recommendation by a panel convened by the Minister of Finance and marks a widely anticipated leadership transition at SARS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“His appointment is universally welcomed within SARS and across the tax profession,” said SAIT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Presidency noted that the transition underscores the growing maturity and stability of SARS as a cornerstone of South Africa\u2019s fiscal framework.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makhubu has been involved in shaping SARS strategic direction<\/span> since 2020 and has played a key role in bringing SARS back to the top of its game following a series of state capture issues at the tax service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“His professional background spans multiple industries and operational perspectives, making him well-suited to lead one of South Africa\u2019s most complex and important public institutions,” it said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Dr Makhubu is well known to the tax community through his regular engagement with professional bodies and stakeholders.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAIT said that Makhubu regularly addresses critical issues such as tax debt, compliance trends, and SARS modernisation initiatives, and operational enforcement priorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that it appreciates his willingness to engage in open and constructive dialogue in his current role at SARS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As we take note of our support of Dr Makhubu\u2019s appointment, we extend our best wishes to outgoing SARS Commissioner Kieswetter,” said Professor Keith Engel, Chief Executive Officer of SAIT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Much has been accomplished during his tenure, including the full reconstruction of SARS as an entity.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tough act to follow<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Makhubu will have a job following Kieswetter, who is widely acknowledged for turning SARS back into the efficient and effective powerhouse it once was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kieswetter emphasised technology as the driving force behind SARS’s tax collection efforts, while also trying to make SARS more user-friendly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His leadership saw SARS focus on making paying taxes really easy and on making dodging taxes very expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While returning the taxman to its efficient best, this came amid serious challenges facing South Africa, including the Covid-19 pandemic, load shedding, the July 2021 unrest, and a weak economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, the service has managed to rake in record revenue over the years, hitting R2 trillion in 2025\/26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We take note of the challenges ahead as we appear to have turned the corner in terms of managing the country\u2019s debt while expanding the tax base,” said Engel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are confident that Dr Makhubu is an optimal choice for taking the country forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commissioner<\/th>Tenure<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Trevor van Heerden<\/td>1997-1999<\/td><\/tr>
Pravin Gordhan<\/td>1999-2009<\/td><\/tr>
Oupa Magashula<\/td>2009-2013<\/td><\/tr>
Ivan Pillay<\/td>2013-2014<\/td><\/tr>
Tom Moyane<\/td>2014-2018<\/td><\/tr>
Mark Kingon (Acting)<\/td>2018-2019<\/td><\/tr>
Edward Kieswetter<\/td>2019-2026<\/td><\/tr>
Johnstone Makhubu<\/strong><\/td>2026-2031<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT) has thrown its weight behind the appointment of Dr Ngobani Makhubu as the new SARS commissioner. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":836878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[18486,3246],"class_list":["post-855940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-sait","tag-sars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855940"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":856007,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855940\/revisions\/856007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}