EDITORIAL: Time to heed Makwetu call for strictness on consultancy
Government should also consider banning Bain, Gartner from future government work
The SA Revenue Service (Sars) commission of inquiry has revealed the cynical role that yet another consultancy played in weakening the tax agency. International advisory firm Gartner's role emerged in testimony last week, as arguably even more questionable than that of Boston-based consultancy Bain & Company, which has since withdrawn its participation in the inquiry after damning allegations surfaced about the conduct of its managing partner, Vittorio Massone. This means many questions around Bain's role in the destruction of Sars would remain unanswered, and that a large amount of evidence of the damage it had done at Sars and over the irregular contract it received would stand uncontested. In 2013, then deputy auditor-general Kimi Makwetu urged the government to employ stricter controls over the use of consultants when he presented a report on a performance audit of eight national government departments.
The report tabled in parliament showed how these departments had over ...
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