CAPE TOWN - The City has refused to answer questions on the value of contracts it has awarded auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) after it emerged that one of its executive directors will be joining the company as a partner.
City’s executive director for corporate services, Craig Kesson’s move to PwC has raised eyebrows, leading some to question the impartiality that existed before his exit.
Asked about the work that PwC has done for the City in the last three years and what the value those contracts were, the City refused to comment.
Kesson is serving his notice after spending more than three years in his position at the City, which saw him in charge of “multibillion-rand operating and capital budgets”, his professional profile stated.
Activists and opposition parties have since raised questions about transparency and a conflict of interest surrounding his PwC appointment.
SA First Forum convenor, advocate Rod Solomons, asked: “The question is how many millions did PwC get from the City? Now he is made partner. What was his role in the awarding of those tenders?”
“This is the kind of operation the DA-led City runs, when asked questions they come with wishy-washy answers that should be publicly available. Clearly there is more to this than they are letting us know. This is the kind of culture and administration that should change,” he said.
Solomons added that this was why civil society was stepping into the ring to contest the upcoming local government elections.
Good secretary-general Brett Herron added: “The City and the DA claim to be committed to complete transparency around the awarding of tenders, what tenders were awarded to PwC by corporate services during the time he was director and what services were they going to provide?
“Is it ethical and legal for a head of a department that awarded tenders, to take up a position (at a company) his department was responsible for awarding tenders to?
“You can’t leave a department and join that professional services company after your department awarded tenders to them.
“Joining as a partner, there are lucrative contracts awarded to a company that you will personally benefit from in profit sharing depending on your partnership agreement.
“The City has refused to answer any parliamentary questions that I pose especially when I ask about tenders.
“They are a government that claims transparency, but there is something they are hiding. These are public funds, there is no basis for claiming confidentiality.”
The City said they had not instituted an investigation into any allegations around the matter, as Kesson “was not involved in the awarding of any tenders to PWC”.
“Mr Kesson has never been involved in awarding any tenders to PWC. The City wishes Mr Kesson well and thanks him for his service,” City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said.
PwC did not respond to questions about the work they had done for the City and Kesson’s involvement, nor the impressions surrounding a possible conflict of interest.
“Craig Kesson will be joining PwC as partner with effect from 1 November 2021,” PwC said.
“Craig will focus on providing strategic context, insights and direction within our Africa advisory practice, focussing on cities across the continent. As is normal practice, PwC will honour any cooling-off period as may be agreed with his previous employer, the City of Cape Town.”
Kesson did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.
Cape Times