Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Edward Kieswetter as the new South African Revenue Services (Sars) head.
The appointment on Wednesday came after a panel recommended him to the president. Ramaphosa said they have confidence in Kieswetter and that he will be able to fix the tax agency.
This followed the report of the Nugent Commission into Sars that a permanent commissioner be appointed immediately after Tom Moyane was fired.
In a statement, the Finance Ministry said Kieswetter, who held senior positions at Sars in the past, was appointed after he beat acting Sars boss Mark Kingon, former senior official at Sars Gene Ravele and three other candidates to the job.
Mboweni submitted the recommendation to Ramaphosa on Monday and on Wednesday the president made the appointment.
“The National Treasury is confident that the process undertaken has integrity and all necessary disclosures were made and no conflicts of interest have been identified throughout the process,” said the Finance Ministry.
It said Kieswetter was the strongest candidate given his experience as former deputy commissioner of Sars in the past.