Cape Town - Bain and Co’s “denial-cloaked-as-apology” is an insult to the people of South Africa.
Whistle-blower and author of the book Deep Collusion: Bain and the Capture of South Africa Atholl Williams expressed this sentiment following the company’s “apology” published in the Sunday Times to South Africa, after being recently banned from competing for government contracts in the UK.
Bain & Co claimed it has been the victim of a “false narrative” about State Capture.
The Zondo Commission’s report into State Capture found that Bain’s involvement with Sars was unlawful.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo had recommended that all Bain’s public sector contracts be investigated, with a view to prosecution.
Calls have been growing for South Africa to follow in the UK government’s footsteps and ban Bain from doing business in the country.
While Acting Director-General of Treasury, Ismail Momoniat, urged the private sector to cease doing business with Bain and Company, Treasury is yet to confirm if it will follow suit.
In the letter Bain managing partner Stephen York said: “Like you, | am South African. I lead Bain’s business in South Africa, where we employ over 80 people, the overwhelming majority of whom are South Africans and only two of whom were involved — as junior staff members — in Bain’s work at the South African Revenue Service (Sars) from 2015-2017.
“We all joined Bain to help South African organisations grow, innovate, and excel. We apologise to you. Bain made serious mistakes in the procurement and execution of our work at Sars and we regret playing any role in the damage to this critical institution. We stopped all public sector work in South Africa and have not done any since. No matter the narrative, we are accountable for our mistakes at Sars.”
However Williams said: “This denial-cloaked-as-apology is an insult to the people of South Africa. The only false narrative about Bain is the one they are propagating.”
He maintained that while Bain & Co claimed they’ve merely made “mistakes”, in contrast, the Zondo Commission concluded Bain acted “unlawfully” and “colluded in the clearest example of State Capture”.
“Bain has shown their disinterest in making full disclosure of their dealings and full amends.”
Anti-apartheid activist and former Labour minister Lord Peter Hain, who lobbied the British government to take action against the global management consultancy with the help of Williams, said Bain was clearly feeling the “pain, which they should”.
“They were implicated in one of the most grotesque forms of State Capture that South Africa saw under the Zuma presidency, disabling Sars. I was delighted when the British government responded to my request to suspend Bain from contracts. Companies like this thought they could get away with making fat profits during the Zuma year, until they start feeling the heat they will not change.
“I hope this sets a precedent and hope further that the South African government, US government and every government they operate in across the world, will similarly suspend the company from public contracts until the Zondo recommended prosecutorial process has been completed. They haven't really come clean about what they did, not just to Sars, they gained two billion in fees over the decades, we don't know what other infamy there is still to be exposed.”
He added that it was “outrageous” that Bain continued to “hound and intimidate” Williams.
“Make amends with him, come clean and reveal everything they did instead of half-hearted excuse apologies. Pay the rest of the fees back and other corporates should do the same.”
Cape Times