McKinsey Says Recovery From South Africa Scandals to Take Years

Rebuilding McKinsey & Co.’s reputation in South Africa after it was implicated in state corruption scandals will be a long process, its top executives in Africa said, adding that the consulting firm is biding its time on resuming bidding for government work.

In addition to undertaking remedial steps and firing implicated staff, McKinsey worked for free this year on global business meetings linked to South Africa’s hosting of Group of 20 gatherings. Still, even that drew stinging criticism from the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“Losing trust and confidence happens very quickly,” Gregor Theisen, McKinsey’s managing partner for ...