A tale of capital punishment
Yet it’s the consultants who are making a killing
If you haven’t read Geoff Budlender’s report into allegations of “state capture” involving Trillian, you should. I make this recommendation realising that indignation fatigue has probably taken hold of you. thought I’d come to the end of my indignation tether, and then came the Gupta/amabhungane revelations that the Free State government paid for the Gupta wedding. About the same time Budlender released his report. My indignation moved to a whole new level. Could it be this state-capture activity was aided and abetted by some very respectable organisations?
Budlender’s report is an easy read that almost perfectly describes why there are so few powerful or wealthy individuals behind bars. It is essentially that cynical old story of capital punishment: if you have the capital you don’t get the punishment.
The main reason there are so many poor people in prisons the world over is they don’t have access to the resources that keep some really bad (but rich) people out of them.
Budlender is not suggesting anyone involved with Trillian is guilty of anything that could result in jail time. He makes clear he did not have the authority to compel anybody to give evidence or provide documentation that might enable him to reach any sort of robust legal conclusion. He had the limited authority granted to him by Trillian chairman Tokyo Sexwale as well as undertakings from executives that they would co-operate.
His conclusion is nevertheless chilling. “What I can say with complete confidence is that the investigation has revealed matters which should be of great public concern”, which ought to be fully investigated.
Much of Budlender’s report describes the sort of obstruction that well-resourced people resort to when they are challenged about possible misconduct. But what Budlender and the “Gupta e-mails” draw attention to is the role played by SA’S “respectable” organisations.
Global consultancy group Mckinsey emerges a little sullied from the Budlender report, which suggests it was in a “sham” BEE arrangement with Trillian around its R1bn Eskom contract. Not that Budlender actually accused them of much, other than that one of their responses was “false” and another inexplicable. But his conclusion is damning: “The facts revealed by the investigation raise questions as to the conduct of Mckinsey. They require further investigation, by a person or institution which has the legal powers to compel Mckinsey to provide the relevant information.”
Unsurprisingly Mckinsey has responded by appointing a law firm to probe the allegations.
KPMG may also drag in the lawyers to defend itself against the audit regulator who wants to look into their work on Gupta-owned Linkway Trading at the time of the wedding.
These developments remind us state-owned enterprises are big paying clients. Perhaps now is the time to look at all the work being done by law, audit and consultancy firms for them. It is unacceptable that law firm ENS has done about 16 forensic reports on SAA, yet the public (which has paid for it all) can’t see them.
The old story of capital punishment: if you have the capital you don’t get the punishment