OUTSIDE VIEW
ANDILE KHUMALO: Blameless professionals will be scarred by PIC inquiry
Unfair allegations of corruption can be agonising, writes Andile Khumalo
The commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) came to an end this week - well, at least for now. Some executives and board members may have been cleared of damning allegations, but the stench of corruption emanating from faceless accusers will be hard to wash off for many of these professionals - often for no fault of their own. I have written previously about the danger of over-reliance on whistleblowers, and the assumption that all that is "whistled" about is worth investigating.
Before the commission closed its hearing, the findings of a lifestyle audit on five former PIC board members were revealed. No evidence of criminality was found against them, but these professionals will carry the scars of this inquiry for the rest of their careers. Google searches will forever reveal that they were once implicated in one of the biggest corruption inquiries of our time. Yet nothing was found...
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