Action welcomed

THE Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) welcomes the action by the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) against Eskom’s former chief financial officer Anoj Singh.

Yesterday, SAICA announced that it was starting disciplinary proceedings against Singh.

According to a press statement released by SAICA, the charges against Singh included conducting “himself in a manner which, in the opinion of the professional conduct committee or the disciplinary committee, is discreditable, dishonourable, dishonest, irregular or unworthy, or which is derogatory to the institute, or tends to bring the profession of accountancy into disrepute”.

This charge is a positive step in eradicating corruption within our stateowned enterprises. It shows SAICA has some teeth and is willing to take action against chartered accountants who let down their profession and their country.

Outa raised questions around Singh’s conduct at Eskom last year, going so far as to lay a complaint at SAICA to investigate his conduct in the hope that Singh would lose his professional licence to practice.

In addition, Outa laid criminal charges against him in September last year. Singh resigned from Eskom in January, following his suspension in September last year.

Outa is a proudly South African non-profit civil action organisation, tackling the abuse of public funds and corruption by holding the government accountable. Ben Theron Outa chief operating officer