Bain & Co fights South Africa ban: 'They were fully complicit in dismantling SARS'
The US company is seeking to lift the ban against it operating in South Africa.
Outside the South African Revenue Service's Tshwane headquarters. Picture: X/@CityTshwane
Bongani Bingwa interviews Khaya Sithole, a chartered accountant, activist and academic.
Listen below:
Boston-based consultancy Bain & Co is engaged in a legal battle with South African finance and tax authorities, aiming to overturn a decade-long ban on conducting business with the state after being implicated in a corruption scandal.
The company is seeking to lift the ban, which has restricted its ability to operate in the country.
Court documents reveal that Bain & Co acknowledged 'mistakes' made during its involvement with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) under the leadership of Tom Moyane and former president Jacob Zuma.
The restructuring efforts carried out by Bain at Sars left the agency severely weakened, hindering its capacity to combat crime during an era of widespread government corruption.
However, Bain believes that the ban is unconstitutional.
Sithole explains that it has since emerged that the company had insider knowledge of Sars's new leadership and, despite this, chose to collaborate with Moyane on the restructuring programme.
"They were fully complicit in the process of dismantling Sars."
- Khaya Sithole, Chartered accountant
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.