POLITICS

Parliament must ‘hold the line’ on Steinhoff – Alf Lees

DA MP says there are millions of citizens who have been affected by the collapse

Parliament must ‘hold the line’ on Steinhoff

26 March 2018

The appearance of Steinhoff executives before the Standing Committee on Finance (SCOF) on Wednesday, 28 March 2018, is an opportunity for Parliament to seek clarity on the proposed financial rewards for Steinhoff board members Heather Sonn, Johan van Zyl and Steve Booysen.

It is simply reckless that the same individuals who were running the company when financial reports were apparently manipulated are now being “rewarded” for fixing the mess they created. The Steinhoff board is under a moral obligation to minimise financial losses to investors, not least of which are the pensioners and members of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).

The DA will write to the PIC, as a Steinhoff shareholder, to request that they not only hold the Steinhoff board and executives to account but to refuse the obscene financial rewards that have apparently been proposed.

Steinhoff executives have failed to show real remorse on the financial damage that the accounting scandal has inflicted on the pensions of ordinary government employees. No one personifies this defiance than former Steinhoff CEO, Markus Jooste, who will most likely ignore the invitation to appear before the SCOF and other parliamentary committees.

Should Markus Jooste fail to appear before the SCOF on the 28th of March 2018, the DA will request that the SCOF summon him to appear before it.

There are literally millions of South Africans who have been affected by the collapse of Steinhoff and all the relevant persons must be held to account. There is a definite role for the SCOF to play in the process of ensuring that the regulatory regime has not failed Steinhoff investors.

Issued by Alf LeesDA Shadow Deputy Minister of Finance, 26 March 2018