BLSA RISKED ITS REPUTATION ON BAIN

The business body’s premature readmission of Bain was damaging, but at least the firm has now fallen on it sword

Ilove the origins of the expression “shoot yourself in the foot”. It comes from a phenomenon that became fairly common among soldiers in World War 1. Tired of an endless war whose purpose many could not comprehend, soldiers would shoot themselves in the foot, landing themselves in hospital instead of the trenches. They would claim that the shooting happened by accident.

Now, the war against corruption in SA these past 12 years has been hard and exhausting. With the release of the Zondo report and the seeming uselessness of the National Prosecuting Authority, this war will get even harder. Are some of those who have fought this brave fight now opting to shoot themselves in the foot and retire from the battleground?

Business Leadership SA (BLSA) has for years been on the right side of this fight. It stood up bravely against state capture and harangued the government to act. By doing so, it pushed back effectively against the frequent assaults and conspiracies about business and its role in SA. Yet, after the release of the Zondo commission report, BLSA allowed itself to be drawn into the state capture debate by defending its readmission of Bain, until it was saved some embarrassment this week with Bain’s withdrawal and apology.

BLSA suspended Bain in 2018. The business undertook some internal cleansing and returned the R164m in fees, plus interest, it had made from the SA Revenue Service (Sars) contract. On this basis, BLSA took it back, which has turned out to be temporary.

This is a relief for BLSA. Investigations are still under way to determine the rot at Sars and Bain’s hand in it. Yet BLSA CEO Busisiwe Mavuso — who has consistently and admirably stood up for accountability in the past — says Bain is not “inherently corrupt”. How does she know? Until the processes currently under way are completed, the prudent thing was surely to keep Bain suspended. Why did BLSA rush to lift Bain’s suspension before all processes were concluded, so opening itself to attack and ridicule?

Last week Mavuso told Bruce Whitfield: “[We] absolutely agree that Bain has committed terrible crimes. But if we are going to look at who needs to be put behind bars and pay for this, I would put it to you that there would have to be individuals. You would have to go after those people that are responsible for those heinous crimes.”

Again, why did she not let the law take its course, instead of jumping to conclusions because internal Bain procedures declared the firm clean?

With its original stance, BLSA did damage to the war on crime and corruption in SA. It should have kept Bain suspended and it should have stood fast until the firm’s role and culpability had been thoroughly adjudicated by the courts.

The reason for this is simple. In SA, one of the most frequently used expressions by the many people exposed by the Zondo commission (and many other bodies before that) is “But what about so-and-so?”.

When political players face scrutiny or (in rare cases) prosecution, this is always the excuse: I am being targeted by “the whites”, the corporate sector, the presidency, the judges, and so on.

Before Bain’s withdrawal, scoundrels were pointing at BLSA and asking: what about Bain? We cannot stand on principle when people we don’t like are accused, and fold on the same principle merely because people from our own circle are now in the dock.

More worrying was the message sent out by BLSA before the withdrawal: we cannot do without the services of a Bain. There are many large and small firms similar to Bain that work with dedication and honesty. They will step into the gap. SA will be fine with or without Bain.

If Bain, a powerful international business, cannot operate in SA, many other local and international firms are available to take up its space and get the work done. The country will not collapse because we don’t have Bain.

A strong, ethical business voice is crucial to the development of SA and to the fight against corruption. Business formations, and BLSA in particular, have been crucial in this fight. BLSA should not have shot itself in the foot when victory over the corrupt is in sight.

Investigations are still under way to determine the rot at Sars and Bain’s hand in it