Sars chief officer for digital and IT, Mmamathe Makhekhe-Mokhuane, earned R3.067 million for 11 months work.

This is according to Sars’ annual report for 2017/2018, which was detailed today by the organisation.

On page 163 of the report, the remuneration for her position – listed as CO: Digital Information and Services Technologies – was noted, with a disclaimer of 11 months in the position.

Makhekhe-Mokhuane made headlines yesterday when she was heavily criticised following her appearance in an SABC TV interview.

Makhekhe-Mokhuane was on SABC News to speak about reports that it will cost R1 billion to fix problems with Sars’ IT systems.

In the interview, however, Makhekhe-Mokhuane deflected questions by stating she only joined Sars in 2017. She did this on several occasions.

When Makhekhe-Mokhuane then started speaking about Sars bursaries for students and the outsourcing of cleaning employees, the interviewer tried to get her back on track by stating they were talking about IT restructuring.

Makhekhe-Mokhuane replied to this by stating: “Mam, can you give me protection from yourself.”

Qualifications

Sars states that Makhekhe-Mokhuane is a seasoned IT professional with IT diplomas and an MBA from the University of North West.

She has previously held the position of Chief Information Officer at the Department of Transport, Department of Communications, and the Department of Water and Sanitation, said Sars.

South Africans took to social media to question her competence, however, and many lambasted her inability to answer questions about Sars’ IT infrastructure.

Others questioned whether Makhekhe-Mokhuane was ill during the interview.

TV interview

The SABC TV interview is embedded below.