Johannesburg - Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has again ordered President Cyril Ramaphosa to take disciplinary action against Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan for lying to Parliament and establishing the taxman's rogue unit.
In another scathing report released on Friday, Mkhwebane found that Gordhan deliberately mislead the National Assembly by claiming he never met a member of the controversial Gupta family.
"Gordhan conceded to not having disclosed that he had actually met a member of the Gupta family an associate of the family in 2010," Mkhwebane said.
According to the Public Protector, Gordhan conceded that at the time of his parliamentary response he could not recall as he had forgotten about the meeting with Ajay Gupta.
Mkhwebane said she found it implausible that Gordhan was only reminded of the meeting by his former chief of staff and current National Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane.
She said the SA Revenue Service (Sars) set up an intelligence unit without the involvement of the State Security Agency [SSA] (formerly the National Intelligence Agency).
Mkhwebane has ordered SA Police Service national commissioner General Khehla Sitole to investigate Gordhan's criminal conduct and that of officials involved in the establishment of the so-called 'rogue unit' for violating the National Intelligence Act.
She also ordered all intelligence equipment used by Sars to be returned to the SSA.
Earlier this year, Mkhwebane ordered Ramaphosa to take appropriate disciplinary action against Gordhan for approving the early retirement of former Sars acting commissioner Ivan Pillay when he (Gordhan) was finance minister.