Readers’Views

KPMG and its ilk should be made to face criminal charges

The headline “Nene urges ‘good men and women’ to step forward and fix auditing industry” (May 6) shows how entrenched malfeasance has become, spreading to the accounting profession and other realms of commerce. KPMG and others that have tried to square the books and ignored the numbers that didn’t add up should face charges of criminal negligence.

The auditor-general’s annual report commonly names state-owned enterprises, NGOs and a majority of our municipalities in corrupt dealings, suggesting the lack of integrity in the ANC has turned the country into a free-for-all society.

The sooner the inquiry into state capture gets under way the better; the findings should put highly placed individuals in jail, acting as a deterrent to those willing to indulge in criminal behaviour, giving the poor, the unemployed and other victims of corruption the chance of an improvement in their lives.

Ted O’Connor, Johannesburg

Bank fraud victims ‘treated badly’

I refer to “Sim scam leaves retired pair penniless, fighting for home” (Money, April 15), regarding the dispute between Johan and Maatje du Plessis and Absa.

While the quantum of our loss is not as great as that of the Du Plessises, we, too, have been defrauded, with money being removed from both our debit and credit card accounts with Absa.

Despite our informing the bank’s fraud division within minutes of the removal of money from our accounts in November, the matter remains unresolved, and we have referred the matter to the banking ombud for adjudication.

Our dealings with the bank have been marked by an apparent lack of interest in our position, and continuous frustrations. Despite the fact that I am disabled and both my wife and I are in our late 70s, it required at least five or six visits to the local branch and countless e-mails before there was evidence of any interest being shown.

While this matter remains unresolved after six months, the bank continues to charge me interest on the stolen money and has also resorted to strong-arm tactics, with threats of blacklisting with credit bureaus.

As the fraud on the credit card was committed against a credit facility and not cash, I fail to see how the bank can hold me responsible for the repayment of this money. The fraudulent withdrawals were made without my involvement and were due to faults in the bank’s systems.

I have been a customer of Absa since 1963 and cannot believe that customers of such long standing are treated as badly as this.

Roy Lorentz, by e-mail

Action needed on mine deaths

I was saddened by the news of the death of seven employees at the Driefontein mine last week. The board of Sibanye-Stillwater needs to act quickly to refocus the company to healthy and safe production.

I hope Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe can make an impact in his new role and act decisively.

Joe Khumalo, ex-Sibanye employee