Godongwana: R265m set aside to get SA off grey list

Godongwana tabled the national treasury's R34.9 billion budget vote for the 2023/24 financial year in parliament on Tuesday. 

Godongwana says 85% of the budget will be allocated for transfers and subsidies mainly to South African Revenue Services (SARS), State Security Agency (SSA), conditional grants to municipalities, and funding for civil and military pensions. 

"The allocation to SARS is R12.2 billion and it is to support continued efforts to rebuild SARS. I am pleased to report that the efforts are bearing fruits,” he says.  

“SARS has seen a net tax revenue growth of 7% per annum since 2019. Public trust in SARS has also increased from 48% in 2018 to 66% this year, whilst public attitude toward tax compliance is at 76,5%," says Godongwana. 

He says over R265 million will be allocated to the Financial Intelligence Centre to implement the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendations. 

Earlier this year, the Paris-based anti-money laundering watchdog added South Africa to its list of countries that will be monitored to ensure the implementation of anti-money laundering and terrorism-funding regulations. 

The greylisted countries include Nigeria, Turkey, Yemen, Cambodia,  South Sudan, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar, Panama, and the  Philippines. 

 Godongwana told MPs that the efforts to get South Africa off the grey list are well underway. 

 "We have committed to providing periodic updates to Cabinet on progress. Last year, we led an unprecedented process to pass an omnibus of statutory amendments that address the gaps in our anti-money laundering regime. 

“The National Treasury, as the lead in the Interdepartmental Committee on Anti-Money Laundering and the Combating of the Financing of Terrorism, continues to coordinate government-wide efforts to comprehensively address the remaining weaknesses in our legal system," says Godongwana. 

He added "We have also updated and strengthened systems for supervising non-financial businesses that are at risk of being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorism. 

 We have also strengthened the systems needed to identify the beneficial owners of businesses and trusts so that they cannot hide behind the veil of corporate secrecy when engaged in money laundering.

“We have submitted updates to FATF on all of this, and we expect positive re-ratings of our system’s technical compliance with FATF standards in the next six months,"

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