Company news

KPMG SA reviewing work done by partners

KPMG South Africa is reviewing work done by its partners in the wake of the resignation of two partners who faced disciplinary charges, its chief executive said on Sunday, another setback for the firm whose work is under scrutiny by authorities. CEO Nhlamulo Dlomu said the resignation of partners Sipho Malaba and Dumi Tshuma on Friday after facing disciplinary charges over failure to disclose financial interests in VBS Mutual Bank, is a reminder of how much more needs to be done to “reaffirm the public's trust in KPMG”.

- Nampa/Reuters



Eskom suspends official over coal mine

Eskom has suspended a senior general manager, pending an investigation into irregular conduct in the supply of coal by a Gupta-owned mine, a spokesperson said on Sunday.

Ayanda Nteta was suspended after she was accused of granting Optimum mine a three-month extension of temporary relief in coal quality without approval from the board.

The company supplies the Hendrina power station with coal in Mpumalanga.

“Her suspension is linked to a contract to supply the Hendrina power station with coal,” said spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe.

Phasiwe declined to give further details on the matter, saying an investigation against Nteta was still ongoing.

- Fin24


European Development bank eyes Africa

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is eyeing a new wave of expansion into sub-Saharan Africa and new parts of the Middle East in the coming years that could raise its lending by as much as a third, its president told Reuters.

Set up in 1991 to invest in the ex-communist economies of eastern Europe and owned mainly by big Western governments, the EBRD has been rapidly expanding over the last decade to operate in more than 30 countries from Morocco to Mongolia.

But with capital still abundant, the bank is looking to advance further south and plans to get the ball rolling when its shareholders gather in Jordan next month for their annual meeting.

- Nampa/Reuters


Deloitte partners deny misconduct allegations

The two local Deloitte & Touche partners charged with misconduct by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) have denied “these allegations” in more than 100 instances in a plea document filed with the board's disciplinary committee in response to IRBA's charge sheet.

The two Deloitte partners charged are Mgcinisihlalo Jordan, Deloitte Africa deputy CEO, and Daniel Crowther.

The 10 charges relate to the financial statements they signed off at African Bank Limited and its holding company African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), before the entities were placed under curatorship. African Bank was placed into curatorship in August 2014.

- Fin24

J&J Baby Powder litigation takes new focus

A US$117 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and a supplier in favor of a man who said his asbestos-related cancer was caused by long-term use of J&J's Baby Powder could open a new front for thousands of cases claiming the widely-used product caused cancer, legal experts and plaintiffs lawyers said.

J&J has been battling some 6 000 cases claiming its baby powder and Shower to Shower products cause ovarian cancer. The US$117 million verdict by a New Jersey jury last week, however, involved a different form of cancer that is clearly linked to asbestos.

Plaintiffs lawyers claim that internal J&J documents seen in that trial show that baby powder had been contaminated with asbestos. They now plan to use the documents in upcoming ovarian cancer trials to allege that the asbestos contamination also caused that form of cancer.

- Nampa/Reuters