The DA says it has written to finance minister Tito Mboweni to request details of the proposed appointment of the new CEO of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba).
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has also indicated that it has written to Mboweni to have the appointment of Jenitha John as Irba CEO halted.
Irba, which is probing high-profile accounting scandals in SA, announced John’s appointment at the end of April to replace Bernard Agulhas, who held the position for 12 years.
The DA says it has questions about the due process followed for the appointment of John, a former Tongaat Hulett independent non-executive director and chair of the audit and compliance committee, as the head of Irba.
SA’s auditing watchdog, tasked with investigating some of the country’s largest accounting scandals, has appointed John whose 12-year tenure as the sugar producer’s subcommittee chair was marred by accounting irregularities that Irba is investigating.
Agulhas headed the board since 2008.
The DA said the rush by Irba to appoint John is a clear push to ensure the appointment cannot be overturned.
“The board has taken the very strange step of apparently bringing Ms John’s appointment forward to May 25 2020 and Mr Agulhas has apparently been requested to leave at the end of May 2020,” said DA MP Alf Lees.
The DA has also raised concerns over John’s qualifications as she is not a registered auditor but a chartered accountant who will be leading an organisation whose main purpose is to regulate the conduct of registered auditors.
“There is surely no good argument to appoint someone without suitable qualifications and whose professional career is seemingly mired in controversy, the very sort of controversy that Irba is mandated to prevent,” said the DA.
“If this proposed and rushed arrangement by the Irba board does go ahead, it will mean a mere five-day handover of the accounting officer position of an organisation tasked with a critical oversight role in the ethical life of business in SA,” concluded the DA.
Business Day has previously reported that Irba chair Abel Dlamini said John’s potential conflict of interest and the Tongaat matter were considered in the appointment process and that the board was satisfied she had all the necessary qualifications and experience for the role of CEO.
Dlamini said John would have no involvement in the Tongaat investigation.
“[Irba] is comfortable that the robust and independently run processes of investigation insulated by Irba governance structures and processes, which are bolstered by two statutory committees with independent experts, would not involve the CEO who has, in any event, no role in any decision or recommendation making. The matter of Tongaat Hulett will not be conducted in any manner that is different to this robust and independent process,” Dlamini said.
Dlamini said: “The board interrogated this matter quite extensively with the candidate concerned and was satisfied, on the basis of information presented and other publicly available reports, that is the PwC report, that there is currently no evidence of guilt or wrongdoing on the part of the candidate.”
He added that PwC’s report on Tongaat reflected on improper conduct by executives and not its nonexecutive directors.
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