Key Takeaways
- The OR Tambo International Airport Traveller Management System (part of the passenger‑processing project) has faced repeated contractor performance problems, leading to termination and ongoing litigation.
- SARS remains committed to its modernisation agenda, citing goals such as strengthening border management, improving data accuracy, and detecting illicit trade.
- Core components of the smart border programme—automatic number‑plate recognition (ANPR) and CCTV monitoring at tobacco warehouses—have suffered design, pilot‑site, and legal delays, pushing implementation into the 2025/26 financial year or beyond.
- The digital South African Traveller Management System (SATMS) has already been rolled out across air, land and seaport environments, separate from the OR Tambo infrastructure upgrades.
- SARS’s Audit and Risk Committee noted improved responsiveness to audit findings but warned that control, governance and IT weaknesses persist, requiring root‑cause fixes rather than superficial fixes.
- Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana praised SARS’s revenue performance, highlighting net collections of R2.010 trillion (8.4 % growth) and a compliance‑programme contribution of R319.2 bn (up 5 %).
- Research commissioned by the Consumer Goods Council of SA estimates the illicit economy across 12 sectors at R280 bn, causing R193 bn in lost legal‑sector production and 87 500 jobs.
Project Overview and Objectives
The Traveller Management System forms part of the OR Tambo International Airport passenger‑processing project and is designed to boost operational efficiency, tighten border management, and improve working conditions for frontline officials. SARS’s 2025/26 annual report frames the initiative as a cornerstone of its broader customs modernisation programme, aiming to strengthen detection of high‑risk movements, enhance the accuracy of traveller and cargo data, support more effective border controls, and better identify illicit trade, smuggling, and other non‑compliance behaviours.
Contractor Challenges and Termination
Construction of the OR Tambo infrastructure has remained only partially complete due to historical service‑provider difficulties. A new contractor took possession of the site in November and began work shortly thereafter, but persistent non‑performance led SARS to terminate the appointment. The annual report notes that, to date, only a limited portion of the contract value has been certified and paid, underscoring the financial and procedural setbacks incurred.
SARS’s Accountability and Governance Response
SARS told Business Times that it treats accountability and consequence management seriously, addressing implementation challenges through applicable governance, contractual, and legal processes. In the OR Tambo case, SARS exercised the contractual remedies available, including termination in line with contractual provisions, and implemented the relevant contractual and governance actions while certain elements of the smart border project remain subject to ongoing litigation.
Modernisation Programme Goals
The agency reiterated its commitment to advancing the modernisation programme in a manner that protects public resources, strengthens border management, and supports legitimate trade and travel. Specific objectives include improving the detection and management of high‑risk movements, increasing the accuracy of traveller and cargo information, enabling more effective border controls, and better identifying illicit trade, smuggling, and other high‑risk non‑compliance activities.
ANPR System Delays
A key component of the smart border project is the automated number‑plate recognition (ANPR) system, intended to streamline arrival and exit management by automatically reading vehicle plates. Implementation has faced significant delays stemming from design issues and pilot‑site setbacks. SARS indicated that the ANPR installation has been postponed to the 2025/26 financial year but remains pending the outcome of litigation, leaving its rollout uncertain.
CCTV Installation Programme
The smart border initiative also encompasses a CCTV camera installation programme at tobacco manufacturing warehouses, aimed at detecting deviations in tobacco production that could signal illicit or potentially illicit manufacturing. This programme has similarly encountered delays, primarily due to legal challenges surrounding the CCTV deployment. As with ANPR, the CCTV rollout is stalled pending judicial resolution.
SATMS Implementation Across Borders
SARS clarified that the digital South African Traveller Management System (SATMS) is distinct from the passenger‑processing infrastructure upgrades at OR Tambo. SATMS has already been implemented across air, land, and seaport environments, providing a functional traveller‑management platform while the OR Tambo construction components continue to experience delays.
Audit and Risk Committee Findings
The SARS Audit and Risk Committee—comprising Barend Petersen, Carmen Mpelwane, and Alice le Roux—reported that accounting and auditing concerns emerged during the year under review from both internal and external audits. While management has shown significant improvement in responsiveness and the closure of audit findings since 2024, the persistence of control, governance, and IT‑related weaknesses indicates a need for sustained focus on underlying root causes rather than merely symptom‑driven fixes. The committee noted progress in eliminating the backlog of overdue findings, strengthening tracking mechanisms, and increasing management engagement in audit processes, yet observed uneven management attention and recurring structural control issues.
Finance Minister’s Commendation
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana praised SARS’s leadership and employees for their steadfast commitment and resilience amid a demanding economic landscape in 2025/26. He highlighted that, despite global challenges later in the financial year, SARS collected net revenue of R2,010.3 billion, representing an 8.4 % increase over the previous fiscal year’s R1,855.3 billion. Moreover, the compliance programme contributed R319.2 billion, up R15.2 billion (5 %) from the prior year’s R304 billion.
Revenue Collection Performance
The revenue figures underscore SARS’s ability to mobilise funds effectively even amid economic fragility, low growth, high unemployment, and constrained household incomes. The growth in net collections and compliance‑programme contributions reflects sustained pressure on revenue mobilisation and the agency’s ongoing efforts to counter illicit trade, organised economic crime, refund abuse, cyber threats, data complexity, and evolving taxpayer behaviours.
Illicit Economy Impact
Citing research commissioned by the Consumer Goods Council of SA, British American Tobacco reported that the illicit economy’s activity across 12 sectors is estimated at R280 billion, resulting in R193 billion in lost production within the legal industry and the loss of 87,500 jobs. This statistic highlights the scale of the challenge SARS faces in curbing illicit trade and underscores the importance of modernisation initiatives such as ANPR, CCTV, and SATMS in protecting legitimate economic activity and employment.
Conclusion and Outlook
While SARS has demonstrated progress in audit responsiveness, revenue growth, and the rollout of digital traveller‑management tools, the OR Tambo International Airport project remains hampered by contractor performance issues, legal disputes, and delayed implementation of key smart‑border components. Continued focus on governance, contractual enforcement, and root‑cause remediation will be essential to realise the modernisation programme’s full potential, safeguard public resources, and bolster South Africa’s border security and legitimate trade environment.
