Future South Africa (FutureSA) has welcomed the decision by the board of the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA) to suspend all co-branded activities with auditing firm KPMG.
“The decision will see IoDSA temporarily suspend activities involving KPMG’s sponsorship of its golf day and KPMG’s involvement in the Audit Committee Forum, pending further investigation. The investigation will be conducted by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors,” said FutureSA in a statement on Saturday.
The announcement came in the wake of the #GuptaLeaks exposé revealing that KPMG had failed to pick up that funds from the Free State government meant for a dairy farm project largely paid for the R30million Gupta wedding that caused an uproar after the wealthy, politically connected family used Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria to land an aircraft carrying Gupta wedding guests.
“We must commend the IoDSA for taking a stance against KPMG, as well as others who have now disassociated with the auditing firm. We also welcome the investigation by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors.
“This forms part of ongoing action and pressure that needs to be put on all those involved in or covering up corruption and state capture,” FutureSA convener Mandla Nkomfe said.
“We also welcome the termination of (British PR firm) Bell Pottinger’s membership of the (British) Public Relations and Communications Association following reports of how the PR firm exploited racial divisions in South Africa through their work for a Gupta-linked company.
“The concern expressed by members of Britain’s House of Lords over the Bell Pottinger issue, as well as the tough stance taken by some businesses to sever ties with the PR firm, sends a strong message that supporting projects that aim to exploit divisions and derail a country’s democratic project are unacceptable,” Nkomfe said.
“The depth of state capture through the practices and dealings by the Gupta family have undermined and seriously damaged the sovereignty of our democracy.
"The revelations and actions taken against KPMG and Bell Pottinger show us is that this is just the start of a massive clean-up process that needs to occur to eliminate the mess of state capture.
“While some regulatory bodies and businesses have heard the voices of ordinary South Africans calling for action, we think it’s high time the country’s leadership does the same by getting rid of politicians who have promoted state capture, benefited from it or protected those involved in it," Nkomfe said.
“Probes into state capture must be prioritised and businesses found to be involved must be penalised and individuals found to be guilty must be prosecuted."