Anti-apartheid activist and former British cabinet minister Lord Peter Hain made headlines last week when he wrote a letter asking current British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to halt all government contracts with US-based consultancy Bain and Company.
Bain had just been implicated in the recently released first volume of the State Capture report for its dealings with the SA Revenue Service (SARS) and the contact it had with former SARS commissioner Tom Moyane and former president Jacob Zuma.
The consultancy has since hit back at the findings in volume one, which details how Bain received R164 million in fees from SARS for a 27-month contract, which was originally supposed to be a six-week contract totalling just R2.6 million. Bain has paid back all of the money with interest and says the State Capture report “mischaracterised” its dealings with SARS.
But Lord Hain says Bain were not the only multinational conglomerate to “fleece” the SA state. Hain writes that State Capture would not have been able to flourish without the likes of KMPG, McKinsey, SAP and the banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Baroda enabling the looting of state coffers by the Zuma-Gupta axis.
Furthermore, Hain contends that Bain whistle-blower Athol Williams should be treated as a hero by President Cyril Ramaphosa and should not have had to flee South Africa for fear of his life.
Business Leadership SA CEO Busi Mavuso writes that her organisation fully supports the recommendations made in volume one (for subscribers) and that those implicated in the report be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Mavuso says that the Business Leadership SA supports the idea that a national charter against corruption be adopted by the government, the business sector and other stakeholders and that an independent public procurement anti-corruption agency, including a council, inspectorate, litigation unit, tribunal and court, be established.
Let’s hope that our politicians, government and business leaders endeavour to ensure that the correct measures are adopted, safeguards put in place, and that those responsible are brought before the law for judgement so that State Capture is never allowed to flourish in South Africa again.
Here’s a roundup of interesting opinions, analyses, and editorials:
Bravo, Judge Zondo – South Africa now needs a total reboot – Daily Maverick
What next for South Africa after the Zondo report has been made public? – Daily Maverick
JUSTICE MALALA | It’s time the electorate stopped feeding the ANC monster – Sunday Times Daily (for subscribers)
JONATHAN JANSEN | This will give your views on struggle-era spies a Shaik-up – Sunday Times Daily (for subscribers)
MICHAEL MORRIS: Western Cape does not have to be a well-oiled anomaly – Business Day (for subscribers)
OPINION | Chrispin Phiri: Lindiwe Sisulu’s attack on Constitution – a distortion of ANC policy – News24
Siya Khumalo | Apartheid whataboutism: A bad excuse to flout Zondo Commission report recommendations – News24 (for subscribers)
Schalk Louw | What the experts expect from 2022 – Fin24 (for subscribers)
Vaccine conundrums to keep one up at night – Mail & Guardian
Mr President, we have heard it all before, promises that come to nothing – The Citizen (for subscribers)
Feature image: Lord Peter Hain at the State Capture Commission. Source: SABC News
