After years of reputational damage tied to state-capture controversies, McKinsey is pursuing a careful reset in South Africa, emphasising internal reforms and improved oversight as it seeks to repair strained relationships with clients and regulators.
- McKinsey is working to restore its reputation in South Africa through internal reforms and improved oversight.
- The firm has implemented compliance protocols, hired new leadership, and engaged clients to address past controversies.
- South Africa’s state-capture scandal highlighted governance issues, implicating McKinsey and other consulting firms.
- McKinsey has refunded fees and suspended government work during its efforts to strengthen risk frameworks.
McKinsey & Co.’s effort to rebuild its reputation in South Africa is unfolding at a moment when the country is fighting to retain its position as Africa’s most influential economy, even as the United States continues to amplify pressure on Pretoria.
Once at the centre of South Africa’s state-capture scandals, global consulting giant McKinsey is quietly working to rebuild credibility with government departments, state-owned enterprises, and major corporates.
The firm has taken a low-profile approach, focusing on internal reforms, strategic hires, and discreet client engagement to distance itself from past controversies.
In recent months, McKinsey has strengthened compliance protocols, refreshed its leadership team, and stepped up outreach to clients who had previously steered clear.
While scepticism remains, the company is betting that careful, behind-the-scenes efforts can gradually restore trust in a market where reputational recovery is slow and painstaking.
SA’s state capture controversy
The state-capture controversy in South Africa took place primarily during Jacob Zuma’s presidency from 2009 to 2018.
It involved allegations that Zuma and politically connected business figures manipulated state institutions and public resources for private gain, especially within key state-owned enterprises such as Transnet, Eskom, and South African Airways.
Consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company were implicated in South Africa’s state‑capture era, with McKinsey legally found to have paid bribes to secure contracts and Bain linked to restructuring work that enabled corrupt practices.
Public exposure of the scandal began around 2016, prompting investigations by the office of the Public Protector, and led to the establishment of the Zondo Commission in 2018, which held public hearings through 2022 and produced extensive findings on the systemic corruption.
The controversy revealed deep weaknesses in governance and accountability in South Africa and remains a defining moment in the country’s modern political and economic history.
“Losing trust happens very quickly”
McKinsey’s Africa managing partner, Gregor Theisen, concedes the depth of the damage. “Losing trust and confidence happens very quickly,” he said.
“Rebuilding takes a lot of time. This story will never be over and we will always carry it with us, and therefore it is a journey, and the journey will take us years.”
Last year, a Business Insider report detailed how McKinsey was slammed with a $122 million settlement over the SA bribery claims.
The U.S. Justice Department said McKinsey and its African subsidiary earned roughly $85 million in profits from the scheme. The firm faced one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the Southern District of New York.
“McKinsey Africa bribed South African officials to secure lucrative consulting business that generated tens of millions of dollars in profits,” said Nicole M. Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Business Tech reports that the firm has spent recent years refunding fees to Eskom and South African Airways, cooperating with investigators, and strengthening due-diligence systems after its involvement in deals linked to Transnet.
It has also suspended government work for more than eight years, a stance Theisen and his South African counterpart, Adolf Makgatho, say will continue until the company is convinced its internal safeguards are watertight.
“It’s an internal decision until we feel comfortable and confident with all our internal risk frameworks,” Makgatho noted.
Yet the firm is clear about the role South Africa plays in its broader African strategy. “You cannot have a successful Africa practice without having a successful South African practice,” Theisen said. “The country is a significant engine for the continent.”
Global giants still see South Africa as the gateway
That commitment mirrors what many multinationals are doing. Despite Trump’s criticisms, South Africa continues to draw foreign companies expanding tech hubs, deepening mining investments and scaling manufacturing operations.
Officials argue this resilience highlights the country’s determination to remain Africa’s most competitive business centre, even as Nigeria and Egypt push for the top spot.
For McKinsey, the influx reinforces its long-held calculation: South Africa remains too strategic to walk away from, even if its own road back requires patience, reform and quiet persistence.
