EDITORIAL: Steinhoff scandal shows wheels of justice grind slowly in business too
News of former CEO Jooste’s payout is a reminder that he remains free and innocent of any involvement in ‘accounting irregularities’ that wiped out R200bn in shareholder value
While no one implicated by the dramatic allegations emerging from the Zondo and Mpati commissions of inquiry is likely to see the inside of a jail cell soon, the commissions are serving a critical role for corruption-fatigued South Africans. They remind the millions who get up daily and do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay that there is right and wrong; concepts that too often seem quaintly old fashioned. And, as important, they remind us that there are consequences to doing wrong. Inevitably many people escape those consequences. But to the extent individuals are named and shamed by the commissions — beyond Angelo Agrizzi’s unrestrained mudslinging — that represents something akin to a consequence. For now. Last week we were reminded it is not just in the public sector that the wheels of justice turn slowly. News that former CEO Markus Jooste was paid R5m for just two months’ “work” at Steinhoff is a reminder that Jooste remains free and innocent of any involvement in th...
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