POWERFUL PROBLEMS
KPMG's new scandal — this time, from the west
A forensic report says officials overstepped their mandate by paying R34.4m to KPMG for its role in the evaluation of a tender for a power station in Namibia
If KPMG SA were trying to convey the impression that its ethical lapses were restricted to Sars and the Guptas, that would be wrong: its advisory service is accused of doing the same thing at Namibian state-owned power utility NamPower, according to a case now before the Namibian supreme court. A forensic audit report commissioned by NamPower, but filed as part of the appeal documentation of losing power station bidder Arandis Power, says the appointment of KPMG SA as a tender evaluator was legally invalid. SA-Namibian joint venture Xaris Energy was the winning bidder, according to KPMG’s findings. The Xaris deal has since been suspended, pending the outcome of the appeal of Arandis Power. Audit firm Saunderson & Co is the author of the 53-page forensic report, which also says KPMG SA was overpaid by R32m to adjudicate tenders for a 250MW gas-fired power station in Walvis Bay. The NamPower case mirrors the McKinsey-Trillian deal: a financially onerous, open-ended transaction without...
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