The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) warns James Aguma that a mere resignation will not be his “get out of jail free card”. This comes after Aguma resigned hurriedly on Wednesday as acting CEO of SABC ahead of an SABC disciplinary hearing against him.

OUTA laid criminal charges against Aguma in December 2016 due to the abuse he perpetrated at the SABC. The case is currently under investigation by the Hawks.

“We also laid a complaint to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) asking them to strike Aguma off the roll of Chartered Accountants and to disqualify him from applying for membership because we need credible individuals working as CAs,” says Dominique Msibi, portfolio director at OUTA.

“The days of officials being pardoned after a mere resignation is over. The damage caused within the SABC all occurred under Aguma’s supervision. Being an executive of a state-owned entity comes with a lot of responsibility. There is no escaping this and we will follow through on our cases against him,” says Msibi.

OUTA emphasised its backing for the SABC’s interim board own criminal investigation against Aguma.

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) in Parliament has also called for Aguma’s prosecution. Scopa chair Themba Godi called Aguma’s resignation an “admission of guilt for the financial mess that the SABC finds itself in” and called on the SABC itself and the Special Investigating Unit to speed up their investigations against him.

 

Issued by OUTA