Whistle-blower Athol Williams is a man whose proof at the Declare Draw shut Inquiry used to be in a deliver to “attach Jacob Zuma within the room” the put SARS’ downfall used to be plotted. Williams used to be a accomplice at Bain & Co. The area consultancy firm has sought to relegate its role within the strategic destruction of our tax collector to 1 among an “unwitting participant”. A cursory note at the reams of proof – and subsequent findings in Zondo’s file – render Bain’s mea culpa no longer fully hole, nonetheless to this level eliminated from the rubble it, Jacob Zuma and Tom Moyane left at the motivate of. At a time when this nation desires expert of us of integrity bigger than ever, as a consequence of our authorities’s “speak diagram to walk away whistleblowers uncovered and abandoned”, Williams stays in self-imposed exile till his safety would possibly presumably also be guaranteed. – Michael Appel
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Athol Williams on why weakening SARS used to be excessive to the deliver elevate project
There’s been heaps of hypothesis about why the deliver capturers would have to walk after SARS. Became it to loot SARS at as soon as? Became it share of their technique to get withhold of Treasury? Became it to disable particular laws enforcement capabilities within SARS in relate that tax dodgers also can care for dodging tax? I discover it’s a mixture of all those causes.
On Bain’s “profound strategy refresh”
Whenever you presumably will seemingly be going to walk and cease this profound strategy refresh of any organisation, it diagram it’s a total cease over. It diagram the organisation is dysfunctional. Nothing is working and no quantity of tweaking is going to solve the speak. That is precisely what Bain and Moyane supposed. There’s no realizing-minded person on the planet who would declare SARS used to be dysfunctional. It used to be one among the cease five tax series agencies on the planet. Bain’s argument is they found complications at SARS and needed to restructure. That is fair a despicable explanation.
On Bain’s native pattern partners Ambrobrite
Ambrobrite is no longer an working firm and by no diagram used to be an working firm. It used to be one thing bought off the shelf on the day it used to be wanted and supposedly toddle by two artists. These two artists had been supposedly offering strategy recommendation to 1 among the sphere’s pre-critical strategy consulting corporations on how to cease industry pattern in South Africa. It’s preposterous. This wasn’t a South African speak with Bain, at its world head space of job; they knew the motive at the motivate of enticing with Ambrobrite used to be as a consequence of his proximity to Jacob Zuma.
Referring to Bain’s 17 meetings with Zuma over two years
Bain’s claims these had been marketing meetings, which simply shows the diagram in which they repeatedly insult South Africans’ intelligence. It’s incredible that they’re attempting to discredit the Zondo Commission. They’ve discredited the Nugent Commission. They’re attempting to discredit me. It’s by no diagram about them. It is miles extremely problematic that any industry manual is meeting with the president. You’ve bought an American firm headed by an Italian meeting with our president to speak referring to the ANC’s manifesto, to speak about how parliament is toddle, to speak about reshaping and repurposing our institutions. That’s extremely problematic.
Bain as co-conspirators with Zuma
With the proof I was in a deliver to masks to the associated payment, for the predominant time, we also can attach Jacob Zuma within the room. It’s valuable to recognise that Bain would possibly presumably well absorb to silent no longer be lumped with all the opposite corporations intriguing in deliver elevate. Bain sits apart attributable to they had been Jacob Zuma’s manual of replacement. They sat with him at the very best desk planning deliver elevate.
Alternate Leadership South Africa’s readmission of Bain as a member
It’s absolutely incredible. It shows this profound ethical poverty amongst the board participants of Alternate Leadership South Africa. For these 12 of us, who are CEOs of among the splendid corporations in our nation, to sit down down around the desk realizing everything we be taught about what Bain has completed at SARS, and produce that that is a firm essential of being inner their organisation desires to be being concerned.
What has to happen now?
We want to scrutinize laws enforcement and our prison justice plot cease what it’s meant to cease, which is to prosecute these of us and connect them at the motivate of bars. What they’ve completed is fair despicable. It’s affected our nation in ways we can’t even calculate or comprehend the impact it’s had on lives, careers, and on the nation as a total. I discover we want to position a matter to of whether or no longer deliver elevate is one thing of the past. I don’t think it is. It is miles persevering with to happen in exact time.
The cost of whistle-blowing
The reality is my existence has been ruined. My career has been ruined. I haven’t had an profits for two and a half years. I’ve ripped my household out of their dwelling and we’ve come to a foreign space the put we have no permanent honest role. I’m unhappy for our nation. I’m unhappy for the combat against injustice, nonetheless I will care for on with my combat.
What number of lies are you able to contemplate? https://t.co/YnJLETL2ey
— Athol Williams (@Athol_Williams) January 18, 2022
In an announcement released earlier this week, Bain talked about it is supportive of the Zondo Commission and its work, “as effectively as its valuable role in helping to cease the detrimental results of corruption in South Africa”. The firm, on the opposite hand, takes umbrage with how the file “mischaracterises Bain’s role at SARS”.
Read additionally:
- Gupta whistle-blower Themba Maseko on being an ‘enemy of the deliver’
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- Monetary Times standpoint: Bain can’t simply distance itself from its role in SA deliver elevate
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