Maynier ‘plays to media’

Chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on finance Yunus Carrim confirmed yesterday there was no change in the decision to hold hearings on the Steinhoff scandal at the end of this month.

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP David Maynier said earlier in the day he had not received a formal reply to his request for public hearings on Steinhoff, although a public statement was issued.

Last month, Maynier wrote to Carrim, asking him to consider scheduling public hearings on the scandal surrounding “accounting irregularities” at the retail giant.

The hearings will be held jointly with the standing committee on public accounts and the public service and administration portfolio committee on January 30 or 31.

But Carrim said the hearings were not being held at Maynier’s request, adding that his political posturing was exacerbating the situation. Carrim said all Maynier had to do was phone or SMS him to check on progress, and not seek to portray that it was only the DA component of the committee that cared about an issue of such national importance.

“Actually, I acted immediately after the issue broke out and decided the committee would have to have hearings on this matter, well before Mr Maynier wrote to me and rushed to the media. I also received a call from Mr Floyd Shivambu regarding the matter and Mr [Themba] Godi had already issued a statement,” Carrim said.

“I wrote to the Financial Services Board (FSB), the Reserve Bank, Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), Independent Board for Auditors and the JSE, informing them of the pending hearings and requesting they provide us with the scope or terms of reference of the FSB investigation into Steinhoff and the possible timelines.”

Steinhoff’s accounting scandal last month, led to the resignation of its CEO, triggering a sell-off that slashed more than 80% of the value off its shares in December. Labour unions said billions of rands of workers’ pensions were lost through GEPF and PIC investments in Steinhoff. – ANA

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