By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Presidency raises alarm over disgraced firms McKinsey and Bain & Co making a comeback in South Africa.
They were appointed to the B20, which facilitates private sector involvement in the G20.
McKinsey was appointed as a supporting partner to the B20 while Bain & Co has been included in the Project Management Office of the Energy Council of SA.
Both firms have been implicated in state capture and corruption scandals.
In a letter to the Energy Council’s members dated October 14 and seen by Fullview, Mackay said Bain had been chosen because it was the only consultancy of the six it engaged with that would do the work for free.
The council’s board considered “any undue reputation risks,” but appointed Bain after conducting a due diligence and decided that given the steps the consultancy has taken it “should be afforded an opportunity to re-earn public trust and contribute to the South African economy,” read the letter.
Presidency emphasized that while the government does not control the processes of the B20, it does not endorse McKinsey’s appointment. Similarly, the Presidency does not condone Bain’s involvement in supporting the activities of the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM).
“The appointments do not contribute to the engendering of public trust and promotion of good governance, given the well-documented role of the two firms in state capture and corruption,” read the statement.
The Presidency has called on the business community to reconsider these appointments and to select more suitable partners for these critical initiatives.
“The Presidency calls on business to reconsider its position and to appoint more suitable partners for these important endeavours,” Presidency urged.
McKinsey last week agreed to pay more than R2 billion to resolve criminal allegations tied to a corruption scandal. The impropriety involved former leaders of state-owned ports and freight rail operator Transnet SOC Ltd. during an era of endemic government graft, known locally as state capture. McKinsey also paid back fees to the state power utility and national airline.
In 2022, a month before Bain was banned from South African government business, the head of its local unit issued a public apology to the country, saying it was “ashamed” of its role while denying it had committed corruption.
Ismail Momoniat, the then-acting director general of South Africa’s National Treasury, said he considered the consultancy’s actions to be “treason” and called for the blacklisting.