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Parliamentary committees condemn Steinhoff scandal

Markus Jooste is the former CEO of Steinhoff International.
Markus Jooste is the former CEO of Steinhoff International.
Image: Jeremy Glyn

Chairman of Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts Themba Godi has called on the Treasury to be more "strident in its condemnation of the Steinhoff scandal than it has been" and called for investigations by SARS‚ the Reserve Bank and the Financial Services Board.

In a statement released on Monday‚ Godi said Scopa called for "accountability" in the Steinhoff corruption scandal‚ and "urgent‚ firm and decisive action to deal with the wrongdoers".

He said Scopa would call Steinhoff executives‚ the PIC‚ the Hawks‚ the South African Revenue Service‚ and the South African Reserve Bank to account in the new year.

"South Africa’s reputation is in the gutter because of political and corporate corruption. All progressive and patriotic South Africans must put a stop to these acts‚" Godi said.

The portfolio committee on Public Service and Administration meanwhile expressed concern over how the probe into irregularities at Steinhof and the resultant losses in its share price would impact public servants' pension funds‚ which could see up to R12.5-billion in pension fund investments lost.

"This is a sad state of affairs when it involves years of pension savings of public servants. This can lead to instability within the public service‚ and would impact negatively on service delivery on important government programmes and projects‚" committee chair Cassel Mathale said.

“As the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration‚ we call upon all regulatory authorities and the criminal justice system to investigate this matter and come up with truthful facts behind the matter. This would allay fears among public servants and all concerned‚ as well as prove that the public service is an entity of integrity‚” Mathale said.

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