President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Dr Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu as Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for a period of five years with effect from 1 May 2026.
Currently serving as SARS Deputy Commissioner, Bloomberg previously reported that Makhubu had been favoured for the role.
Makhubu has been the deputy commissioner of taxpayer engagement at SARS since 2023, when he was appointed along with two other deputies.
Ramaphosa made the 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 the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana.
Makhubu, who has held the position of Deputy Commissioner: Taxpayer Engagement & Operations since 2023, succeeds Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, whose two-year contract ends on 30 April 2026.
“The incoming commissioner 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,” the president said.
He has worked in complex, regulated and large-scale organisations across multiple industries, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), mining, power generation and public revenue services.
Makhubu has also worked on formulating the SARS strategic direction since 2020 and has actively implemented the Vision 2024 strategy alongside outgoing commissioner Edward Kieswetter.
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.
Ramaphosa also expressed his appreciation and high regard for Kieswetter’s incisive and innovative leadership.
He said that Kieswetter’s tenure, which spanned 7 years, positioned SARS as a critical enabler of fiscal stability, social delivery, and trade facilitation.
Kieswetter has been widely lauded as a highly successful SARS Commissioner and credited with rebuilding the service from the ashes of the previous administration.
SARS Commissioners
| Commissioner | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Trevor van Heerden | 1997-1999 |
| Pravin Gordhan | 1999-2009 |
| Oupa Magashula | 2009-2013 |
| Ivan Pillay | 2013-2014 |
| Tom Moyane | 2014-2018 |
| Mark Kingon (Acting) | 2018-2019 |
| Edward Kieswetter | 2019-2026 |
| Johnstone Makhubu | 2026-2031 |
When Kieswetter took up the top spot at SARS, he had the unenviable task of re-equipping the tax service to be the efficient and effective powerhouse it once was.
To do this, he emphasised technology as the driving force behind SARS’s tax collection efforts, while adopting the philosophy of making tax “user-friendly”.
A clear goal throughout his tenure was to make paying taxes really easy and to make dodging taxes very expensive.
While the SARS commissioner has been incredibly successful in rebuilding SARS, it hasn’t been without its challenges.
Kieswetter oversaw operations during one of the most economically turbulent times in history, maintaining service levels during the COVID-19 pandemic while collecting revenue from a narrowing tax base.
Taxpayers, particularly wealthy ones, have been emigrating and ending tax residency in their thousands, while wider economic strain on individuals has forced SARS to draw water from a shallow pool.
Nevertheless, the service has managed to rake in record revenue over the years, hitting a record R2 trillion in 2025/26.
