Ramaphosa appoints Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu as Sars boss

Dr Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu is the new boss of the South African Revenue Service (Sars).

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Makhubu’s appointment as Commissioner of Sars on Thursday, with The Presidency saying the five-year term is effective from 1 May. Makhubu takes over from Edward Kieswetter, who played a key role in the turnaround of SA’s revenue service following the state capture period.

Read:
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Makhubu, who is from within Sars’s senior leadership, has been seen as the front-runner for the position for several months.

“President Ramaphosa has made this appointment in terms of section 6 of the South African Revenue Service Act of 1997, following a unanimous recommendation by a selection panel convened by Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana,” says Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.

Makhubu was previously the deputy commissioner of taxpayer engagement and operations at Sars since 2023.

He 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.

According to The Presidency, the commissioner-designate has also worked in complex, regulated and large-scale organisations across multiple industries including fast-moving consumer goods, mining, power generation and public revenue services.

Read:
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“Dr Makhubu has worked on the formulation of the Sars strategic direction since 2020 and has actively worked to implement the Vision 2024 strategy together with the current Commissioner [Kieswetter],” Magwenya adds.

The implementation of Vision 2024 achieved revenue collections with a compounded annual growth rate of 7.6%, while voluntary compliance increased by 3.4 percentage points.

Kieswetter will bow out on a high after reporting record-breaking revenue collections at his last tax takings results announcement on Wednesday.

Listen to Kieswetter speaking to Jimmy Moyaha on SAfm Market Update about Sars’s record revenue collection (or read the transcript here): 

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Godongwana welcomed the announcement in a separate statement issued by National Treasury.

“The appointment comes at a unique and challenging juncture in South Africa’s economic landscape, with the fiscal discipline and steady reforms of the past few years beginning to yield the stability needed for faster growth and investment amid global uncertainty and shocks,” he said.

“I wish Dr Makhubu all the best. The National Treasury and I look forward to working with him to build on the solid foundation left by the outgoing commissioner, Edward Kieswetter,” said Godongwana.

Treasury pointed out that the appointment process began in 2025 and was designed with careful consideration of the recommendations of the Nugent Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance by Sars.

“An independent selection panel, chaired by former Minister of Finance Mr Nhlanhla Nene, undertook a shortlisting, interviewing and assessment process, culminating in a report submitted to the President recommending Dr Makhubu for the position,” it said.

Read/listen:
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“Dr Makhubu brings more than two decades of knowledge and experience to the role, having worked at Sars since 2016, first as its Chief Procurement Officer, then as Chief Finance Officer between 2018 and 2020, and as Chief Revenue Officer up until 2023, when he was appointed deputy Commissioner for taxpayer engagement and operations,” Treasury highlighted.

Makhubu holds the following qualifications:

• A Bachelor of Science degree (Electrical Engineering) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal
• A Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of South Africa (Unisa)
• A Master’s degree in Business Leadership from Unisa, and
• A PhD in Leadership from the University of Pretoria.