The Inkatha Freedom Party notes with grave distress the current collapse of global retail giant Steinhoff International, which until last week was one of the top 10 performing shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and London FTSE.
IFP spokesperson on Finance, Hon. Mkhuleko Hlengwa, MP, said, ”Let the sudden collapse at retail giant be a cautionary tale to the government of South Africa, that entities such as Steinhoff which are built upon the hard-earned investment and good faith of our citizens, are currently not being subject to stringent enough audit and oversight mechanisms, and that this current lacuna in our corporate legislation is allowing for travesties such as the one we are now seeing at Steinhoff to manifest with greater regularity,”
“Publicly listed companies are simply not being subject to sufficient management and financial audit oversight. Citizens who invested in Steinhoff shares have lost considerable equity, a great deal of the money being lost coming directly from pension funds, and this is patently unacceptable.” Hlengwa added.
Hlengwa further condemned the prevalence of corruption in private sector, saying “Quite clearly the private sector is not white as driven snow as the general narrative suggests.
Corruption, whether in the public or private sector, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms and must be punished.”
“The resignation by CEO, Markus Jooste, as well as his reported admission that he had made some very big mistakes when confronted with a host of accounting irregularities, requires a full criminal investigation in South Africa,” concluded Hlengwa, MP.
Contact:
IFP spokesperson on Finance
Hon. Mkhuleko Hlengwa, MP
071 111 0539
IFP Media, Parliament