McKinsey to repay R650m to Transnet and SAA
US management consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to repay some R650 million in fees paid to it by South African Airways (SAA) and Transnet.
The commission of inquiry into state capture confirmed the agreement on Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement, the commission said the amount covered by McKinsey’s undertaking has not yet been fixed with Transnet and SAA, but is likely to be about R650 million.
“The commission suggested to McKinsey that, in the light of that evidence, and consistent with the attitude that it took in relation to the Top Engineers MSA contract at Eskom, it should repay the fees that it had earned on the Transnet and SAA contracts as an act of responsible corporate citizenship.
“McKinsey has today announced publicly this voluntary commitment to return all of the fees it had earned on all contracts on which Regiments worked with McKinsey at Transnet over the period 2012 to 2016 and to do the same on the single contract which Regiments carried out with McKinsey at the South African Airways.”
The commission has urged other implicated companies to repay monies owed to state-owned entities.
“In voluntarily repaying the fees it earned at Eskom in 2018 and by now returning the fees from the Transnet and SAA projects where it worked alongside Regiments, McKinsey has conducted itself as a responsible corporate citizen.
“The commission urges other companies to follow its lead and do the same in all cases where evidence shows that they have benefited from contracts tainted by corruption, even if they were not party to that corruption.”
Witnesses from McKinsey will testify at the commission on Thursday.
