Press Statement dated 6 September 2018
The Public Servants Association (PSA) is disappointed by the way Member of Parliaments (MPs) handled the Steinhoff inquiry in parliament yesterday.
Billions of public servants’ pensions invested in Steinhoff International Holdings were lost under the leadership of Markus Jooste. In a parliamentary inquiry that was due for months since the collapse of shares at Steinhoff, Markus Jooste finally made an appearance before MPs on 5 September 2018.
“As a representative Union of more than 240 000 public-sector employees affected by Jooste’s actions, the PSA believes that MPs did not do justice to those affected. The MPs handled Jooste with kids’ gloves and chairpersons of Scopa and Finance committees allowed him to look like a victim. From the PSA’s observation, the committees almost looked like they were looking for help from Jooste instead of holding him accountable through a relevant researched set of questions. Instead, they were more like puppies playing into his hands,” said PSA Acting General Manager, Tahir Maepa.
The PSA is dismayed that instead of showing remorse and taking responsibility of what happened, Jooste played the blame game by shifting responsibility to his former European partner and auditing firm Deloitte.
“The inquiry was supposed to bring us closer to the truth and for justice to be served but, instead, the man at the helm of this mess walked away looking like an angel. The parliamentary inquiry was also supposed to expose information that will give relevant authorities enough ammunition to nail Jooste, but this failed dismally. The PSA will continue within its means and work with relevant authorities to ensure that those responsible are ultimately held accountable,” said Mr Maepa.
Issued by Tahir Maepa, Deputy General Manager, Public Servants Association (PSA)