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Top 5 on Fin24: Vodacom probe, Brown admonishes Eskom, and Wits drops KPMG

Cape Town - In case you missed it, here is a roundup of Wednesday's top 5 reads on Fin24.

Competition Commission looks into Vodacom's exclusive govt deal


The Competition Commission has started an investigation into Vodacom for "abuse of dominance".

This comes after Vodacom secured an "exclusive exclusive four-year agreement" with National Treasury to be the sole provider of mobile telecommunication services to the government.

Vodacom's stock price was put under pressure by the move, which the cell phone giant called "surprising" 

The Competition Commission said in a statement that the contract would entrench Vodacom’s dominant position in the market, raise barriers to entry and expansion, distort competition in the market and result in a loss of market share for other network operators. 

READ: Competition Commission takes on Vodacom's exclusive govt deal

Brown says Eskom lies "an assault" on SA's governance systems

Lynne Brown


Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown said Eskom's payments to Gupta-linked firm Trillian would have been investigated earlier had the power utility not lied to Parliament.

Brown was briefing Parliament's oversight committee on public enterprises about her department’s annual report, when she referred to the fact that Eskom had lied to DA MP Natasha Mazzone when she asked if the power utility made payments to Trillian back in December 2016.

“The opposition was entitled to ask the question, and to receive a truthful response," said Brown. "Had a truthful response been forthcoming, and the facts of the relationship been exposed last December, appropriate action would have been taken to investigate by now,” she said.

READ: Eskom lies an assault on SA's governance systems - Lynne Brown

#GuptaLeaks: Contract to pay McKinsey and Trillian R1.6bn ‘invalid’

In the first in a series of investigations, investigative journalism outfits amaBhungane and Scorpio detailed how global consultancy McKinsey lined up a R9.4-bn bonanza from Eskom with the help of Gupta-linked Trillian Capital Partners.

They also showed how Eskom executives ignored warnings from their own legal team that the contract favoured McKinsey and did not comply with the law.

In Part 2 on their joint investigation, amaBhungane and Scorpio investigate how the flawed contract – cancelled after queries from National Treasury – was nevertheless used to justify a massive settlement for McKinsey and its de facto empowerment partner, Trillian.

READ: #GuptaLeaks: Contract to pay McKinsey and Trillian R1.6bn ‘invalid’

Wits University drops KPMG

kpmg

Wits University will not be renewing its contracts with audit firm KPMG, which are set to lapse at the end of the year.

The decision comes after a meeting on September 29 between the members of the University Council’s Audit and Council Risk committees, KPMG's new CEO Nhlamu Dlomu, and international KPMG representatives.

According to a statement issued by the university on Wednesday, the embattled auditing firm provided internal auditing and risk management services to the university.

READ: Wits drops KPMG, says it did not do enough

UberEATS surpasses over half a million downloads in SA

UberEATS

As it celebrates its first birthday in SA, food delivery app UberEATS is averaging 10 000 downloads a week.

The riding-hailing company said in a statement on Wednesday that its 550 000 downloads so far in SA equated to some 10 000 downloads a week.

"Delivery partners have driven almost 5 000 000 kms, which is the same distance to make 6 trips to the moon and back. Along the way, it has expanded the number of restaurants it has partnered with to over 1 200 restaurants across Cape Town and Gauteng,” it said.

READ:  UberEATS surpasses 500 000 downloads in SA

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