Global consultancy firm Bain & Co says it disagrees with a 10-year ban imposed on it by National Treasury from doing business with the state and says it is considering its options on the decision.
The Treasury said on Thursday the effective date of restriction was September 5 2022 until September 4 2032 for engaging in corrupt and fraudulent practices related to a SA Revenue Service (Sars) contract.
The ban comes after the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture and the Nugent commission found Bain & Co had played a part in dismantling Sars.
In its response, Bain said it deeply regretted the mistakes made in the procurement and execution of Bain SA’s work with Sars between 2015 and 2017.
“We are embarrassed that this could have occurred in the first place and are angry that our work was used by others to damage a critical institution and SA,” Bain said.
Bain said it had acknowledged and apologised publicly for the mistakes made and accepted there must be consequences for those mistakes.
“We repaid to Sars all fees plus interest before the completion of the Nugent Commission in 2018 and have not pursued any public sector work since 2019, nor did we have plans to do so in the future.”
However, the company said there was no evidence it had colluded with Sars or engaged in any corrupt and fraudulent practices.
“While we acknowledge that Bain SA was aware of the request for proposal before it was formally issued, we have found no evidence, nor has any been produced, that Bain manipulated the procurement process in any way to exclude other bidders or specifically advantage Bain. This process was wholly run by Sars.”
Bain said it had already reached out to stakeholders, including the Treasury and Sars, to engage in further dialogue.
“Despite this outreach, we were given no notice of, or opportunity, to respond to the restriction before its apparent implementation,” Bain said.
Bain said its new SA leadership was determined to make sure the events of the past can never be repeated.
“In line with the public commitment we made in our recent appeal for constructive dialogue, we will continue reaching out to key stakeholders to engage openly and honestly on a way forward.
‘This includes doing what is required to restore our standing with the government and other stakeholders over time and to be a force for good in the country.”
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