McKinsey’s tone-deaf fudge
McKinsey: would I lie to you?
In a fit of hand-wringing, the global consulting firm apologised for causing ‘distress’ — but it’s much more distressing that it ignored many of the larger issues it would rather not explain
The list of excuses provided by consulting firm McKinsey this week for getting into bed with Gupta-linked advisory firm Trillian was as long as it was improbable. In a nutshell, McKinsey argued that Eskom lied to it when it claimed its contract had the green light from national treasury; that any mistakes McKinsey made were unintentional lapses in judgment, mostly from departed SA senior partner Vikas Sagar; and that those mistakes won’t be repeated because McKinsey has frozen its work for state-owned companies until its governance is beefed up. But this doesn’t go nearly far enough to explain how McKinsey and Trillian earned R1.6bn for just six months’ work on an unlawful contract for Eskom. After a four-month investigation, McKinsey said it genuinely believed, based on what it was told by Eskom, that its contract was above board. And it offered to pay back the money rather than “benefiting from an allegedly invalid contract”. Its hand-wringing statement was replete with heartfelt ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.