Readers’ Views

Timely reminder of the hard cost of hubris throughout history

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Herbert Kawadza for his excellent comment in “Why did Steinhoff board fail in its fiduciary duty?” (January 14).

The “unbreakable and systemic hubris” he mentioned is evident in all aspects of our lives, from families through to the highest echelons, education, business, politics, religion, royalty and all else out there.

History is proof of our fallibility. However, no one is listening, learning or attempting to change. But hope and good intentions should never be scoffed at, so may 2018 hold the door open for the life that awaits us should we get our act together.

To Herbert Kawadza, I thank you. Gordon Bailey, Chintsa East

Diamonds worth sifting for

In his column “If degrees cost nothing, they’ll mean nothing” (January 14), Bruce Whitfield goes on to elaborate on quality and scarcity, even making reference to De Beers sifting through the debris at the mouth of the Orange River. I get that, especially after his reference to Grade 1 enrolment versus Grade 12 pupils who actually get a chance to sit for their final exams and, ultimately, the pass rate, especially in maths and science.

My understanding is that institutions of higher learning will remain as they are, if not improve, delivering the highest quality education.

The intention of the system (fragmented as it is at this stage because of a lack of clarity from the powers that be) is to offer a chance to “diamonds” who would otherwise be washed out to the ocean due to a lack of funds.

Who knows — we might even find more “De Beers” in the process.

I get the sense that Whitfield is dead set against changing the status quo because, in his opinion, this will result in the value dropping.

The reality is that the majority of those “diamonds” are largely black and any form of assistance would be greatly welcomed. The time of business as usual is long gone.

Musa Jili, by e-mail

Blinkered white view of education

Re: “If degrees cost nothing, they’ll mean nothing” (January 14), ignorance of what happens across the country’s borders, in the townships next to its Legoland security estates and in the rest of the world has always been white South Africa’s downfall.

Higher education is and has always been free in Germany and France, to mention just two of the countries in the world whose degrees mean a lot more than any South African university can ever dream of!

Sonia Thomashausen, on businesslive.co.za

Deloitte also has case to answer

I refer to “‘I expect a lot of people are going to go to prison’ ” (January 14).

My question is simple: after the recent brouhaha and witchhunt where KPMG was taken to task for Gupta-related dealings, why has there been no mention of the role and responsibilities of the Steinhoff auditors, Deloitte?

In my opinion, they are just as guilty of not adhering to acceptable accounting standards.

Barry Platt, Johannesburg