Former British MP Lord Peter Hain. Screengrab
Lord Peter Hain, a staunch advocate for action against state capture tainted Bain & Company, is set to address the UK Parliament this week.
Hain wants the British government to freeze all contracts with the US management consulting firm and for it to be held accountable for its role in state capture in South Africa.
Whistle-blower Athol Williams confirmed yesterday that the UK's Cabinet Office was continuing with the investigations into the disgraced group.
This as the UK government is caught in the crosshairs of a crisis of confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which led to his resignation this month under heavy pressure from lawmakers in his own Conservative Party.
Boris in February said the UK Cabinet Office would "look into" consultancy Bain & Company "with urgency", following an appeal from Lord Hain.
However, on the local front, it has been quiet after the Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recommended a review of Bain’s public contracts.
Williams said, "The status is unchanged in that Bain continues to make hundreds of millions in South Africa without impunity, which means SA CEOs, for example Sasol, continue to hire Bain despite the Zondo Commission findings.
Williams said yesterday it was shocking that CEOs and boards in South Africa continued to hire Bain.
"We need these companies to set aside their short-term financial requirements and do what is right for our country. It reflects poorly on company ethics that they would do business with a company like Bain, which has shown complete disdain for our country’s democratic institutions and our people by its intimate involvement in state capture, involvement which Chief Justice Zondo called ‘unlawful.’
“Bain must be blacklisted by the SA Treasury. We also have to ask why no politicians are calling for Bain to be blacklisted like Lord Peter Hain is doing in the UK,“ he said.
The Zondo Commission recommended that all Bain’s public sector contracts be examined
" I would hope this is happening because Bain is hiding lots of information that is relevant to our country’s pursuit of truth and justice, I continue to collaborate with Lord Peter Hain in the UK and other anti-corruption organisations,' Williams said of on-going efforts.
Bain has warned Williams against tarnishing the group's name, and in response to the Zondo Report said its role in the affairs of the South African Revenue Service had been misrepresented.
Williams said there had been no engagement at all in either the private sector or the local government in the time that he had sought refuge in the UK, which highlighted the dangers faced by whistle blowers in the country.
“The status is also unchanged with regard to my situation – more than ten emails to the Presidency have gone unanswered and despite their claims to offer support, big business and Busa have rejected my requests.“
Earlier this year, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) said it had been exploring the possibility of establishing a fund to help whistleblowers like Williams.
Saica CEO Freeman Nomvalo said it was understandable that members who exposed corruption feel that the professional body does not give them enough support.
Nomvalo said at a webinar on the importance of whistleblowers that Saica was willing to facilitate that, but it needed the buy-in of its 50 000 members.
"One of the difficulties that Saica faces is that because we're a non-profit organisation, there's only so much money we can receive outside of our members," he said.
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