It’s just Ivan Pillay’s luck to be married to investigative journalist Evelyn Groenink, bestselling author of Incorruptible: The Story of the Murders of Dulcie September, Anton Lubowski and Chris Hani. She tells the story of their lives apart and then together. From Evelyn’s time in the Dutch anti-apartheid movement to her move to Lusaka in 1990, and from the politicisation of a young Ivan Pillay in Merebank, KZN, who joins the ANC and goes into exile, to the crossing of their paths in Zambia and their falling in love.
Pillay was, during the Zuma years, a leader of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) when a smear campaign was conducted against him. The smear was that Pillay set up a ‘rogue unit’ of investigators at the tax agency. He speaks here for the first time, of the days of exile and working with Oliver Tambo; of Operation Vula; the return home; and most tellingly of his time at SARS and the insidious campaign against him and others in the top layers of what once was a world-class tax institution.
The story pulls back the curtains on a party and state which once held the moral high ground, but was debased. As broadcaster and author Redi Tlhabi says: ‘Weaving history and contemporary politics, from Natal to Russia, Lusaka to Amsterdam, this is the story of anti-apartheid stalwart Ivan – is that even his name? – Pillay. For the Unlikely Mr Rogue, who will defy friend and foe in the fight for principle and ethics, his vindication is simply the correct outcome.’
Coherence and efficiency can only be achieved on the back of a values-based (ethics and integrity) systemic professional public service that has the right technical and managerial skills. Further, such an endeavour can only be driven from the centre of government. Read Part III of Ivan Pillay’s op-ed series with
The Unlikely Mr Rogue (and me) is the story of Ivan Pillay, the ‘Sars rogue unit’ and the damage wrought by rubbish ‘leadership’. Evelyn Groenink writes about the anger that inspired her book. Read it online here.
Evelyn Groenink’s book about her husband, liberation movement veteran Ivan Pillay, is a portrait of a modest man trying to do his best to help rebuild the country through his work at Sars — before his life was turned upside down, writes Jonathan Ancer. Read this interview with Evelyn here.
Evelyn was on The Midday Report with Mandy Wiener discussing The Unlikely Mr Rogue. Listen to it here.
It is often thought that Dulcie September, Anton Lubowski and Chris Hani were assassinated by apartheid forces simply because they were freedom fighters. But ‘Incorruptible,’ a nail-bitingly thrilling reflection of Evelyn Groenink’s painstaking research over the past 30 years, shows the truth is different. All three tried to keep their organisations, the ANC and SWAPO, free from wrongdoing. They stood against mafias who had invaded their movement’s inner circles. They were not only brave anti-apartheid fighters: they were incorruptible.
Coherence and efficiency can only be achieved on the back of a values-based (ethics and integrity) systemic professional public service that has the right technical and managerial skills. Further, such
Growing and supporting pockets of excellence in the public service may be our best defence against the corruption that feeds off SA’s broken systems. Ivan Pillay, Yolisa Pikie and Sridharan
Interview with Ivan by Natasha Marrian for Business Day: Reparations have been offered to current and former Sars staff to right the wrongs of the Moyane era. But is it
In Part I, we argued that the most effective way to combat corruption is not to implement a separate anti-corruption plan, but to integrate anti-corruption measures into making our institutions
