ANC a no-show as parliament hears of KPMG blues

6 Oct 2017

There was not an ANC MP in sight when Parliament's standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) kicked off its hearing into the KPMG debacle on Thursday morning.

Themba Godi, chairman of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa). Photo: SA Breaking News

Only four MPs, other than Scopa chairperson Themba Godi, were there at the start: DA Scopa members Tim Brauteseth and David Ross, the DA's David Maynier, who is a member of the standing committee on finance, and EFF Scopa member Ntombovuyo Mente.

Auditor-general Kimi Makwetu was also in attendance.

Scopa member for the ANC Nyami Booi had to apologise for attending a recent briefing by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on the KPMG report, as his presence gave the impression that Parliament was partisan on the issue in favour of SARS and that the revenue service was being run from Parliament.

Godi welcomed the KPMG delegation led by newly appointed KPMG SA CEO Nhlamulo Dlomu and asked that they reflect on questions the committee sent them honestly and account to Parliament openly.

"We had chosen to invite you because we believed it was in your own interest for you to use a public platform like this to reassure people that there is still reason for KPMG to engage with the public," said Godi.

Godi also urged KPMG to take the opportunity the committee gave them as a platform to clarify matters and ease fears that the recent scandals had compromised other work done by the firm.

"On Monday, it's the last day for annual reports to be submitted. The critical question " should be if there is any anxiety around whether your work is the kind of work we [as the state] can utilise with no hesitation," he said.

The blows to KPMG's business have been unrelenting since its report directly affecting the government's response to reports of a rogue unit at SARS. These have prompted businesses to dump the firm and seek the services of other auditing firms.

The firm is also being investigated by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors for audit and advisory work which it did for the Gupta-owned Oakbay finance institution, at a time of heightened scrutiny over the phenomenon of state capture.

Source: BDpro

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