Facing backlash for its involvement in the erosion of the SA Revenue Service (Sars) under state capture, US-based management consultancy firm Bain has withdrawn its membership from Business Leadership SA (BLSA).
Bain, one of the leading global consultancy firms, has been implicated in part one of the state capture report, which found that it, along with former Sars commissioner Tom Moyane and former president Jacob Zuma, were central to the attempt to destroy the tax agency.
Giving no reasons for its sudden withdrawal of its BLSA membership, Bain said in a statement on Tuesday that its involvement with Sars, stemming from “various lapses in leadership and governance” inflicted “serious damage” on the revenue receiver.
Describing it as a “humbling” episode, Bain said it is “deeply sorry for any role that [its] work may have inadvertently played in what transpired at Sars.”
BLSA, which represents some of SA’s largest listed companies including mining giant Anglo American Platinum and financial services group Absa, quietly welcomed Bain back into its fold in 2021. The business umbrella body had previously removed Bain from its membership in 2018 after the conclusion of the Nugent Commission of Inquiry which, similar to the state capture report, found that Bain benefited from questionable dealings with Sars and Moyane, leading to the failings of the tax collection agency.
Bain has denied the findings of the state capture report, saying that though it had “made mistakes” in its work with Sars, it did not wilfully support state capture at the revenue service or elsewhere.
Referring to the 2018 Baker McKenzie investigation into its business relationship with Sars, Bain said there was no evidence that it intentionally harmed Sars or participated in state capture.
To atone for its involvement in the erosion of Sars, Bain says it had repaid all fees plus interest received for its engagement with Sars.
Its operations remain in SA under new leadership and a newly appointed oversight board for its operations in the country and across Africa.
“We also set up a global risk management team to oversee all public-sector work. We have offered full co-operation to enforcement authorities and will continue to do so,” Bain said in the statement. .
Correction: January 18 2022
An earlier version of this story said Bain rejoined BLSA in 2020 when this in fact happened in 2021.
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