Thursday, August 23, 2012
THE SHARP RISE AND FALL OF THE AFRIKANER BROEDER BOND
R26 million for Steve Tshwete
8 KZN Hawks members held
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Charges against 'Winnie cops' dropped
Charges against 'Winnie cops' dropped
2012-08-22 22:35
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (File, Sapa)
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Johannesburg - Criminal charges have been dropped against two policemen involved in an altercation with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and her bodyguards, trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday.
The charges were withdrawn by the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.
"Solidarity will investigate the possibility of laying a charge of malicious prosecution against Madikizela-Mandela's bodyguard Jacob Monare," the union's spokesperson Dirk Hermann said.
The altercation happened in 2010 when Warrant Officer Jannie Odendaal and Constable Abel Twala stopped Madikizela-Mandela's car because it was reportedly being driven recklessly at 150km/h.
An argument ensued. Madikizela-Mandela's bodyguards brought charges of pointing of a firearm and intimidation against the policemen. They were suspended with full benefits.
Hermann said the initial charges against Madikizela-Mandela and her bodyguards should be re-investigated.
Charges of obstruction of justice against Madikizela-Mandela, and of assault and reckless or negligent driving against Monare and the driver were dropped by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said Hermann.
"The NPA dropped the charges against them in 2011, while Odendaal and Twala were prosecuted," he said.
The two policemen had appeared in court on numerous occasions, but the case was postponed because the docket was not available.
The senior State prosecutor decided to withdraw the charges against them on Wednesday.
"We are now investigating the possibility of charging Monare with malicious prosecution because of the possibility of political interference," said Hermann.
The NPA in Johannesburg could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
- SAPA
Read more on: police | solidarity | dirk hermann | winnie madikizela-mandela | johannesburg
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Winnie Drops Out Of Mandela Celebration
No Show: Winnie was "too exhausted" to recreate famous walk
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has dropped out of celebrations honoring the 20th anniversary of her ex-husband and former South African president Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, saying it was “too exhaustive” for her.
Madikizela-Mandela was scheduled to lead a 500-meter march from the former Victor Verster prison in Paarl, Western Cape, a recreation of the walk she took with her ex-husband after he was released from prison 20 years ago.
No other details about her condition have been released to the media by the ANC.
“Something very strange has been going on,” one source told The UK Times Online. Wild horses would not keep Winnie away from an event like that. Everyone knows that if Mandela himself went, front-page news was guaranteed,”
Mandela’s former wife was also expected to address a rally attended by African National Congress veterans, including Ahmed Kathrada and Denis Goldberg.
Nelson Mandela did not attend the commemorative march either, reported The Guardian, much to the dismay of his supporters. Mandela, now 91 years old, is reportedly too frail to make the jaunt. Although he rarely makes public appearances these days, Mandela did attend the ANC rally afterward.
Madikizela-Mandela has been a constant source of controversy for the ANC. After Mandela’s 1990 release, details of her infidelity exploded onto South African newspapers, and the couple divorced. Ever since, ANC propagandists have been doing double-duty in Madikizela-Mandela’s image control department, in an effort to portray Nelson Mandela as “The Father of South Africa.”
Necklaced: 14-yr-old Stompie Moeketsi
In 1985 Madikizela-Mandela made an infamous speech where she declared, “With our necklaces we shall liberate this country.” The term “necklacing” refers to the practice of setting a tire filled with gasoline around a person’s head and then setting it ablaze. Her personal bodyguard, the innocuous-sounding Nelson Mandela Football Club, was responsible for many acts of intimidation, including necklacing, against Black opponents of Mandela. Most infamously was the necklacing death of 14-year-old activist Stompie Moeketsi in 1988.
Madikizela-Mandela was eventually tied to the murders, and later confessed to them.
Winnie Mandela Admits to Stompie Murder
Madikizela-Mandela has also been convicted for kidnapping and fraud.
Despite the scandals, the ANC made her the 5th selection on their MP list for the general election last year, a move roundly condemned by political rival Helen Zille.
Andrew Feinstein, a former African National Congress MP who resigned in protest over alleged government corruption, said about the anniversary: “My overwhelming sense when I look at South Africa today is just how far we as the ANC and South Africa have fallen from the heady days of Mandela’s years in office. It was an inspiring example of occupying the moral high ground. That’s now gone and I suppose I look at it with a sense of sadness.
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Winnie: 'Africa's Evita'
By Keith Somerville
BBC News Online
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is still one of the most controversial political figures in South Africa.
Her conviction on fraud and theft charges just adds another chapter to the already dramatic story of the woman once called the "mother of the Nation" by many black South Africans but now called the "mugger of the Nation" by some.
She denied the fraud, characterising them as the latest part of a long-running campaign to drag her name through the mud.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela retains massive grass-roots support
Still an MP for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Ms Madikizela-Mandela has frequently come into conflict with President Thabo Mbeki and the ANC leadership but has retained support among poor, grassroots supporters of the party.
She recently offered to go to Iraq as a human shield in case of a United States-led war.
Born at Bizana in the Transkei, she met the leading ANC activist Nelson Mandela in 1957. He was already married but the marriage was breaking up.
They married in 1958 but were destined to have little time together as political activism and a period in hiding kept Nelson Mandela apart from her.
He was jailed for life in 1964 and only released in 1990.
While he was in prison, she took on an increasingly political role, partly because of constant harassment by the South African security police.
She became an international symbol of resistance to apartheid and a rallying point for poor, black township residents who resisted apartheid.
This led to her being dubbed the "Mother of the Nation".
Banished
Her resistance to harassment and championing of the anti-apartheid cause led to periods of imprisonment from 1969, much of it spent in solitary confinement.
In 1976, the year of the Soweto riots, she was banished from the township to a remote rural area. This did not end her problems and at one stage her house was burned down.
Stompie, 14, was killed during the struggle against apartheid
Suspicion fell on the South African security forces.
By the mid-1980s and the start of a long period of township militancy against the white government of President PW Botha, she was back in Soweto and at the heart of the struggle.
Her image and activism drew to her many anti-apartheid activists, including a group of young men who became her personal bodyguards.
They were known as the Mandela United Football Club.
Her prominence led to great influence over young, radical township activists but also growing controversy.
As the activists turned on suspected police informers or collaborators, the use of rubber tyres filled with petrol as brutal murder weapons became widespread.
Hung round the necks of the accused and then ignited, they became known as "necklaces" and drew criticism even from the ranks of anti-apartheid campaigners.
At one township rally, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela praised activists who with their "necklaces" were fighting apartheid.
Even greater controversy came when she was charged by senior anti-apartheid activists with involvement in the killing of a 14-year-old township militant, Stompie Seipei.
Disgrace and divorce
Stompie had been seized by Ms Madikizela-Mandela's bodyguards in 1989 and later found dead.
Members of the ANC leadership accused her of being behind the killing and of conducting a virtual reign of terror in parts of Soweto.
The Mandelas were married for 38 years
From prison, Nelson Mandela continued to support his wife.
In 1991, after his release, she was charged with the assault and kidnapping of Stompie Seipei and one of her bodyguards was charged with his murder.
She denied the allegations but was found guilty of kidnapping and sentenced to six years imprisonment.
This was reduced to a fine by an appeal court.
Her marriage to Nelson Mandela broke down in the years after his release and they were divorced in 1996.
President Mandela charged her with adultery.
Political fortunes
Her split from Nelson Mandela did little to harm her political standing among poor, black South Africans. In the 1994 and 1999 elections, she was elected as an ANC MP and remains a leader of the ANC Women's League.
At the same time, in a career strikingly like that of the Argentine politician Eva Peron, she became known for an increasingly lavish lifestyle.
When she testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, she arrived at the hearings in a white Mercedes limousine surrounded by bodyguards.
At the commission, ANC members and ordinary township residents accused her of attacks on opponents, of ordering Stompie Seipei's murder and of being guilty of involvement in other murders.
She vehemently denied the accusations, calling them ludicrous.
This dented but did not destroy her political career. She remains popular with those who feel the ANC has not done enough for the poor.
This has brought her into conflict with President Thabo Mbeki. At the 25th anniversary of the Soweto riots, in June 2001 she clashed publicly with the president.
Her conviction for fraud and theft is the latest mark on her increasingly stained reputation.
Marikana events long in the making - Mosiuoa Lekota
Marikana events long in the making - Mosiuoa Lekota
Mosiuoa Lekota
21 August 2012
COPE leader says President Zuma has allowed the wheels of state to come apart
Speech by COPE President Mosiuoa Lekota in the debate in Parliament on condolence motion on the Lonmin Mine tragedy at Marikana, August 21 2012
Speaker,
Death is final. Nothing can reverse death. The sudden, unanticipated death of 34 miners at Marikana at the hands of the police, in circumstances still to be fully revealed by the Judicial Commission of Enquiry that the President intends to appoint, will leave indelible scars that will not quickly heal. As far as COPE is concerned the tragedy was preventable if only proactive and even-handed measures had been implemented by all parties.
In the aftermath of the tragic incident, the nation is shocked and its confidence in the future is shaken. The nightmare of a past period stretching from Sharpeville, to Langa, to Boipatong has returned. The judicial commission of enquiry that is being promised must lay bare the whole truth. Nothing less will do.
The families of the two policemen and the two security guards who were killed as well as those of the miners who lost loved ones need to know the whole truth of what has really been happening.
Media groups across the world have been flashing images of the tragedy on their screens and front pages. The great political capital we had has been severely eroded. Someone has to pay the price for this.
The death of the four security personnel and the thirty four miners has left all of us distressed and distraught. COPE offers its sincerest and heartfelt condolences to all the bereaved families. COPE also demands that both government and Lonmin provide these families with all the support necessary in this period of their bereavement and beyond.
The events that unfolded on Black Thursday have been a long time in the making. The President, as everyone has observed, and all the analysts have been consistently pointing out, is focussing so exclusively on his own election that he has allowed the wheels of state to come apart.
The South African constitution in section 12 guarantees everyone freedom from all forms of violence from either public or private sources. There is no death penalty. The question that therefore has to be asked is: Was there a command given to the police to shoot a volley at the miners using live ammunition. If so, where did that order come from and what authority was used to sanction the use of deadly force?
COPE asks this question because it is clear that the police were armed with sub-machine guns when they should have been equipped with riot gear, water cannons, pepper spray and rubber bullets to quell serious disorder. On 1 April 2010 President Zuma introduced new ranks, with a military connotation, like "general" and "colonel" in the manner used before 1994.
In 2009, the then Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula declared the intention of the administration to make the police a paramilitary force by adopting the military ranking system.
Our RSA Constitution in section 199 provides for a "defence force" on the one hand and a single police service on the other hand. This distinction, which this administration has been actively seeking to blur, is vitally important to make. The "militarisation" of the police has been recognised as a major impediment in the NDP which was released last week in Parliament by no less a political leader than the Minister in the Presidency, Mr Trevor Manuel. The NDP specifically calls for the demilitarization of the police and we in COPE fully support that call.
On Black Thursday at Marikana, members of SAPS used excessive force against the miners because the police were outflanked while laying out barbed wire and said that they felt endangered. The key question is how many miners were armed with guns requiring SAPS members to use semi-automatic rifles against them? We need to know this.
It is very clear to all of us that SAPS management failed to update its own rules for dealing with public protests. In the circumstances officers were ignorant of the standing orders regarding the use of live ammunition. This failure, in view of the enormous damage caused to the reputation of the nation, must have repercussions for the executive as well as for the management of SAPS.
Another issue of enormous concern to COPE is the close political alliance of the ruling party with public service trade unions such as NUM and POPCRU. We all know that at Marikana Mines AMCU had broken away from NUM and that there was great enmity between them. What will convince the public that the order to shoot at AMCU members was not linked to large scale rejection of NUM, an affiliate of the ruling party, by members that previously belonged to NUM? Was there a hidden political agenda to the shooting at Marikana because of the close relationship or was it a failure of SAPS management to update its standing orders on use of live ammunition?
Minister Shabangu has fuelled such speculation by her steadfast refusal to allow AMCU to be present at a meeting with the other involved parties. Her deliberate omission of AMCU is unacceptable.
The ruling party has put itself in a terribly invidious position as it can no longer convince the nation that it has the ability to be even handed, neutral and objective. Government is established with taxpayer's money and every citizen, regardless of political affiliation, requires equal justice. If that impartiality is in doubt, the central pillar on which government exists will have collapsed.
To add a further twist to this dilemma the news magazine, Praag alleges that:
Cyril Ramaphosa, beskik blykbaar via sy maatskappy Shanduka oor ‘n kontrak om alle arbeid ann die Lonmin-myn op Marikana te verskaf. "Ramaphosa en die NUM bedryf ‘n vorm van slawe-arbeid by die myn," het ‘n bron op Marikana gese. "Hy verskaf die arbeid teen ongeveer R12 000 per werker, betal elke werker R4000 per maand en steek die res in sy sak."
[Cyril Ramaphosa, has apparently through his company Shanduka obtained a contract for all labour at the Lonmin Marikana mine. "Ramaphosa and the NUM are operating a form of slave labour at the time," said a source at Marikana. "He provides the labour at about R12 000 per worker, but pays each worker R4 000 per month and puts the rest the rest in his pocket."]
If there is any truth in this allegation it will show good cause why the mine drillers are insisting on being paid R12 000 per month. This figure will not have been sucked out of the air.
The truth of the contract will be easy to establish from records kept both by Lonmin and Shanduka. The role of COIN Security used at Marikana, which is also nested in Shanduka, also needs a thorough investigation.
The grievances of the mine workers may have a basis in hidden deals and secret interests.
The tragedy that occurred at Marikana was a dismal failure of leadership and of accountability on the part of the ruling party. That is where the central focus should lie.
For a long time COPE has been insisting on constitutionality, accountability, and transparency in governance. On 3 August 2012, I asked the Minister of Police, in question 1869, whether the curriculum for SAPS members included the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The minister's reply of 3 August 2012 indicates that a "crowd management learning programme" exists for SAPS members. We will have to interrogate this because section 199(5) of the RSA Constitution specifically requires that the security services "must teach and require their members to act in accordance with the Constitution".
"Accountability, responsiveness and openness" are key founding provisions of our Constitution. In respect of the tragedy at Marikana we must indeed ask how responsive, open and accountable the ministers have been in the unfolding tragedy. It cannot be acceptable that ministers, notwithstanding their failure to discharge "all (their) constitutional obligations ... diligently and without delay", as required in terms of section 237 of the Constitution, can remain safely ensconced in their positions.
If they fail the test they must go.
Serial government misdemeanours, ineptitude, tender manipulation, corruption and lack of leadership, amongst other things, has eroded people's trust in government. People are increasing resorting to street justice and violence to get noticed by a government that seeks not to hear, seeks not to see and seeks not to do.
As the quality and quantity of services decline, state coffers empty, and corruption multiplies the protests will grow and the use of force to achieve control will become the order of the day.
Intolerable situations lead to an escalation in violence that then feeds on violence. We must be very careful not to enter that cycle of conflict which cannot be broken.
The clock in South Africa has been set back. The lack of a moral compass on the part of the ruling party has led to a loss of moral authority. That is why the police are not being obeyed and both police and civilians are dying in the violence that is being unleashed.
COPE deeply regrets what happened at Marika Mines and joins with all other parties in conveying its condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all those who lost their lives and prays for the speedy recovery of all those who sustained severe injury.
Thank You
Issued by COPE, August 21 2012
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Het polisie by Marikana gemoor om Ramaphosa finansieel te help?
Geskryf deur Praag
Maandag, 20 Augustus 2012 20:44
PRAAG het nuwe inligting oor die Marikana-massamoord bekom wat dit laat voorkom asof die mynwerkers van die Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) met opset deur die polisie vermoor is as deel van 'n veldtog om van die lastige unie ontslae te raak.
Amcu was besig om die NUM as meerderheidsvakbond by die myn te vervang. Voordat die skietery losgebars het, het die polisie die media aangesê om die gebied te verlaat.
Lauren Clifford-Holmes, die multimediaredaktrise van die Mail & Guardian, is Donderdagnag verhoed om met beseerdes te praat. Sy het egter twee werkers van Lonmin teëgekom wat bevestig het dat die struweling tussen die twee vakbonde vir die probleme verantwoordelik is, aangesien die NUM-verteenwoordigers nie herkies is nie.
Die sakeman en hooggeplaaste ANC-politikus, Cyril Ramaphosa, beskik blykbaar via sy maatskappy Shanduka oor 'n kontrak om alle arbeid aan die Lonmin-myn op Marikana te verskaf. "Ramaphosa en die NUM bedryf 'n vorm van slawe-arbeid by die myn," het 'n bron op Marikana gesê. "Hy verskaf die arbeid teen ongeveer R12 000 per werker, betaal elke werker R4000 per maand en steek die res in sy sak. As voormalige hoof van NUM, kan hy die vakbondleiers beheer en sorg hy dat die groteske uitbuiting waarmee hy besig is, in stand gehou word."
NUM se mededinger, AMCU, vereis egter dat die R12 000 wat Shanduka as arbeidsmakelaar luidens die kontrak met die myn ontvang, direk aan die werkers uitbetaal word. Veral die rotsboorders, wat baie moeilike en gevaarlike werk doen, het gevoel hulle is op hierdie loon geregtig, aangesien dit reeds die tarief is wat Cyril Ramaphosa se maatskappy vir werk by die myn ontvang.
'n Oudpolisieman met wie PRAAG gesels het, maar wat nie sy naam genoem wil hê nie, sê dat te oordeel aan die foto's wat hy gesien het, was die werkers nie besig om die polisie aan te val nie, maar was hulle besig om weg te vlug van 'n gedeelte waar 'n tweede polisie-kontingent hulle met traanrook bestook het. "'n Mens kon sien party het probeer om hul oë en gesigte te bedek. Hulle het gedink hulle vlug na 'n plek van veiligheid waar die swaar gewapende polisie hulle egter met outomatiese wapens afgemaai het," meen die oudpolisieman.
Die motief vir die massamoord by Lonmin-myn op Marikana sou die beskerming van Shanduka se winsgewende dienskontrak vir die verskaffing van arbeid aan die myn wees. Shanduka het reeds bekendgemaak dat hy R2 miljoen vir die begrafnis van die 34 werkers skenk.
Die werkers is meesal afkomstig uit Lesotho en landelike gebiede in die Oos-Kaap en sou dus moeilik hul regte en hul lewens kon verdedig teen die ANC-beheerde staat wat nou saamwerk met 'n Brits-beheerde mynmaatskappy. Tot dusver het die enigste vrae rondom die massamoord van swart politici en aktiviste buite die ANC-dampkring gekom.
'n Groep bekend as die September National Imbizo het ter plaatse ondersoek gaan instel en met 'n ooggetuie gesels wat beweer dat die mynwerkers "in 'n hinderlaag gelok is" deur hulle eers van bo uit helikopters met 'n "blou middel" te bestook, waarna hulle in die verwarring doodgeskiet is. Vele is tereggestel terwyl hulle tussen rotse en in die bosse probeer wegkruip het. Op die webwerf van September National Imbizo word die ooggetuie as "ons vriend" beskryf:
"...ons vriend toon aan ons hoe verskeie mense geskiet is terwyl hulle tussen die rotse en onder bosse weggekruip het. Ons kon self sien waar die bloedkolle was wat 'n aanduiding was van die vasberadenheid waarmee werkers uit hul wegkruipplekke uitgehaal en doodgeskiet is. Allerlei soorte kledingstukke en skoene met bloed lê oral op die toneel rond."
Die webwerf beweer verder:
"Wat duidelik is uit wat daar aan ons gesê is, is dat dit 'n hinderlaag was. Die videomateriaal in die hoofstroommedia met werkers wat op die polisie afstorm was eerder werkers wat besig was om van koeëls agter hulle weg te hardloop. Waarom sou werkers, wat met knopkieries bewapen was, die gewapende polisie bestorm? Die werkers was heeltemal omsingel en wat ons in die media gesien het, is net die helfte van die verhaal. Daar was duidelik 'n bedoeling om dood te skiet, vandaar die ontplooiing van die weermag."
Ander vreemde dinge het gebeur.
Die media is ure lank ná die skietery van die toneel weggehou sodat dit moeilik sou wees om die presiese gebeure te herkonstrueer. 'n Kontak van The Star is tydens die massamoord doodgeskiet. Ook het die polisie 'n fotograaf van die Mail & Guardian gedwing om sy foto's uit te vee. Waarom was die polisie so bang dat bepaalde getuienis oor die gebeure sou uitlek?
'n Video wat in Nederland verskyn het, toon 'n Vodafone-ambulans op die toneel. Dieselfde video is later op News24.com vertoon, maar sonder die ambulans, wat toon dat die video geredigeer moes gewees het.
Vooraf het Sapa soos volg oor die leier van die AMCU berig: “Ons is nie veilig nie. Ons telefone word afgeluister, het die AMCU-president Joseph Mathenjwa aan 'n skare in die Wonderkop-plakkerskamp gesê.
"Ons is demokraties gekoloniseer - werkers werk onder vreeslik haglike omstandighede."
Ná die massamoord het Mathenjwa 'n werklik onafhanklike ondersoek geëis, maar die ANC het bloot een van sy eie ministers, Collins Chabane, aangestel om die kommissie van ondersoek te lei. Onder die vorige, sogenaamde "apartheidsregering" is daar altyd regters aangestel.
Waarna Mathenjwa waarskynlik verwys as hy van "demokratiese kolonisering" praat, is dat werkers teen R4000 per maand moet werk terwyl Cyril Ramaphosa drie keer soveel per werker ontvang.
'n Johannesburgse sakeman met wie PRAAG gesels het en wat ook in die dienstebedryf werksaam is, beaam dat die ANC se kaders feitlik 'n stelsel van "slawe-arbeid" in die land ingestel het. Die eertydse offisiere van Umkhonto we Sizwe verskaf tans arbeid aan die myne deur hoofsaaklik buitelanders te werf. Min of geen van die myne neem meer werkers regstreeks in diens nie.
"Alles wat die ANC sê apartheid was, met die stelsel van trekarbeid, geld nou, behalwe dat dit veel erger is," meen die sakeman. "Die ANC se kaders beheer alles. Hulle het hulle in alle sektore van die ekonomie ingegrawe. Hulle regeer nie, hulle is 'in besigheid'. Die staat is vir hulle bloot nog 'n besigheid, met hulpbronne wat hulle kan gebruik om hulself te verryk."
Of om 'n mededingende vakbond soos die AMCU te straf en 'n "voorbeeld van te maak"? In die aanloop tot die verkiesings van 1994 het die ANC halssnoermoorde op sogenaamde "sell-outs" gepleeg. Waar tienmiljoene rand per maand ter sprake is by die verskaffing van werkers aan 'n myn, kan 'n mens dus verwag dat 'n organisasie wat so gewetenloos soos die ANC kan optree, alle middele sal gebruik om mededingers te elimineer.
Tydens die skietery het 'n joernalis van The Star, Poloko Tau, vanaf die toneel getwiet: "Auto guns creacking [sic] and cocked like 100 at a time, scary … warzone down here, 1st shot fired … journalist running, diving and hiding amid shots, water canon spewing water at the strikers … my contact has just been shot dead …"
Ná die Marikana-massamoord het sommige mense eenvoudig net "verdwyn". Sapa het soos volg berig:
"Omtrent 100 vroue het by die Ga-Rankuwa-landdroshof buite Pretoria opgedaag waar meer as 250 betogers na verwagting op klagtes van openbare geweld sou verskyn.
'n Vrou, Nombulelo Jali, 37, het histeries gehuil. Sy sê die polisie weet nie wat van haar man Themba Khalo Jali, 40, geword het nie. Volgens haar is hy Donderdag in hegtenis geneem.
'Ek het al die pad van Harding in Kwazulu-Natal gekom maar ons kan hom nie kry nie. Ons het in aller yl oral gesoek en ons kan hom nie vind nie. Die polisie het hom weggevat, ' sê Jali."
Julius Malema beweer dat vele van die stakende werkers tans "onwettig in 'n privaatgevangenis" aangehou word. Sy vriend Floyd Shivambu sê insgelyks dat vele van die werkers in die rug geskiet is, wat sou aandui dat hulle weg van die polisie af gehardloop het toe hulle geskiet is.
Dit kon nog nie vasgestel word nie, aangesien 'n veiligheidskordon oor die gebied getrek is en joernaliste nie by die hospitaal toegelaat word nie.
Die noue verbintenis tussen die Brits-beheerde mynhuise en die ANC kan etlike dekades heen teruggevoer word. Die eerste kontak tussen die destydse Afrikaner-establishment en die ANC is deur die Britse mynmaatskappy Consolidated Goldfields in Engeland tydens die tagtigerjare gereël. By daardie geleentheid het Thabo Mbeki en Willie Esterhuyse mekaar ontmoet.
Die mynhuise het destyds 'n vername rol gespeel om die ANC as nuwe regering vir Suid-Afrika voor te stel en het waarskynlik private ooreenkomste met die sogenaamde "bevrydingsbeweging" gesluit.
Gister het die voorsitter van Lonmin, Roger Phillimore, "apartheid" die skuld gegee vir die haglike omstandighede waaronder mynwerkers op Marikana leef, wel wetende dat Shanduka en Lonmin 'n groot deel van die myn se inkomste vir hulself toeëien.
Julius Malema het Jacob Zuma en Cyril Ramaphosa vir die massamoord verkwalik: "Hulle het toesig gehou oor die massamoord op ons mense... Nie eens die apartheidsregering het soveel mense gedood nie."
Dit is onduidelik of die optrede van die polisie ooit intern ondersoek sal word, want die uitvoerende direkteur van die polisie se onafhanklike ondersoekdirektoraat, mnr. Francois Beukman, het so pas bedank "om ander loopbaanmoontlikhede te ondersoek". Hy verlaat die diens aan die einde van vandeesmaand. Sy kontrak sou eers aan die einde van Augustus 2014 verstryk het.In elk geval dink die nuwe baas van die polisie, Riah Phiyega, die dood van 34 mense was nie 'n slagting nie.
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Kommentaar deur : (Soos Op Praag )
GAS567 • a day ago −
Na aanleiding van die uiteenlopende kommentaar hiernaas en die tipe analise wat gemaak word is dit redelik vreemd dat daar nie konsensus bereik kan word nie.
My persoonlike opinie is dat die "amptelike" kommentaar van swak gehalte is en dat die openbare kommentaar van die saak meer emosioneel hanteer word.
Ek luister vanoggend op radio sonder mense (laaste 5 min) na 'n dokter se ontleding van die ISS. Volgens hom is die polisie in 'n situasie geplaas wat hulle nie beter kom hanteer nie, met geen alternatief beter as wat gedoen is nie. Dit is duidelik dat die dokter se simpatie by die polisie le.
Het mense nie meer erens met feite nie. Dit lyk asof die humaniste se invloed verradelik ver ingesuurdeeg is. Alle is relatief, elkeen se opinie het waarde, en al daai twak.
Alhoewel die hele waarheid nie sal uitkom nie, moet daar 'n aanvaarbare analise gedoen word wat die mees moontlike scenario skets, slegs 'n klein tree na die waarheid. Die probleem met die volle waarheid in die tipe situasies is dat dit per definisie nie sal uitkom gesiende wie die deelnemers is.
Die objektiewe soeke na die "mees waarskynlike" gaan baie beter wees as die humanistiese emosionele "elkeen het sy eie waarheid" of "die waarheid is relatief".
Voor die humaniste nou ophou lees en begin retoriek heen en terug slinger, kyk na die yl feite wat wel beskikbaar is en maak dan jou "relatiewe gevolgtrekkings".
Die details van die geveg is moeilik bepaalbaar. Die videos waarna verwys word is deur die nuusspan van Al Jazeera bekend gemaak. Ek kon basies twee videos van die geveg self aflaai. Grepe hiervan word in ander videos gebruik en maak die kommentaar van die nuusspan baie verdag. Dit wil amper blyk dat hulle aanvanklik simpatie met die rampokkers toon, wat dan later blykbaar vervang word met "provocation by the miners".
Die videos wat op "The Telegraph" (Londen) beskikbaar is kan nie afgelaai word nie. Dit is ook so geredigeer dat dit duidelik is dat 'n storie meer waarde as die waarheid het. Dis moeilik om die video te analiseer, maar word as Video_3 bespreek.
Die eerste video ("Police open fire on South African miners.flv" Video_1) word geneem van agter 2 Njalas met die fokus op die rampokkers wat van regs na links sigbaar is deur die gaping tussen die 2 Njalas.
Die rampokkers is sigbaar gewapen met pangas, knopkieries, spiese en blykbaar messe. Dit is later duidelik dat ten minste een met 'n balistiese handwapen ook bewapen was. Die beweging van die rampokkers is gehurkend en as die Njalas nie daar was nie, sou 'n ou se hulle bekruip 'n baie groot kudde buffels. Dit is wat die prentjie absurd maak.
Wat word hier bekruip? Die hele polisie teenwoordigheid staan in die ope en dit sou "normaalweg" nie die teiken van bekruip wees nie. Het die muti hulle onsigbaar gemaak? Dink hulle regtig niemand sien hulle nie?
Die vraag bly staan, wat was hulle doelstelling met hulle bekruiping?
Die video toon verder 'n lid van die polisie wat met donshael altesaam 3 skote (sekonde 16.5 tot 20) vuur op 'n afstand van omtrent 5m. Die lid skuil half teen die neus van 'n Njala en na die derde skoot is hy heeltemal agter die Njala in. Hierdie lid word na verwys as SP1.
In tussen is daar twee ander lede (SP2 & SP3) wat verby die kamera beweeg en vuur trek van een van die rampokkers (sekonde 21) (een skoot en daarna weiering) waarna SP2 & SP3 weer vorentoe beweeg en vuur antwoord (donshael). Teen sekonde 25 is daar nog een lid (SP4) sigbaar.
Vanaf skoot 1 (sek 16.5) tot sekonde 25 het die rampokkers van regs na links voor die vier lede verby beweeg en slegs die een skoot en weiering is sigbaar vanaf die rampokkers gevuur te wees in die rigting van die polisie.
Die beeldmateriaal is nie genoegsaam om te bepaal wat alles tussen die rampokkers gebeur nie omdat die sigvak te klein is. Wat duidelik is, is dat meeste aanhou van links na regs beweeg, asof skynbaar nie gehinderd deur die donshael.
Intussen het SP1, soos dit 'n dapper poeliesman betaam, binne die Njala geklim en die deur toegemaak! Teen sekonde 30 sit hy veilig binne die Njala om die k*k uit sy boots te skud.
Op sekonde 27 hoor jy duidelik semi-outomatiese vuur (eerste skote klink soos AK maar kan pistool wees [nie 9mm]) en dan voeg 'n paar ander wapens vuur by (meer as 2) tot met sekonde 35.
Dit is ook gedurende hierdie tydperk (sekonde 27 tot 35) wat die Video_1 se fokus wegbeweeg van die gaping tussen die Njalas na links, waar 'n verdere troep polisie (Groep1) in sig kom (ongenveer sekonde 27/28).
Vanaf sekonde 28/29 is daar suile (divot) grond en stof wat in die voorgrond van Groep1 opstyg. Tydens sekonde 33/34 is daar 'n duidelike suil (divot) deur geweervuur in die grond geskiet, wat duidelik vanaf die Groep1 se rigting gevuur is. Daar is ook verdere divots wat die opmerking staaf.
Die inleiding van Video_1 toon rampokkers wat in 'n 5-man wye formasie na die kamera kom en blyk tenminste 50 man diep te wees (250?). Die beweging van voertuie regs in beeld (veral die lemdraadleer) wil voorkom asof die beeld 'n ander hoek is van die waarmee Video_1 sekonde 11 en aan.
Die tweede video ("South African miners fired on by police.flv" Video_2) begin ironies ook op sekonde 16 met die outomatiese vuur wat ooreenstem met sekonde 27 van die Video_1 waar die skote in die grond so stof opskop.
Video_2 se begin blyk op 'n vroeer geleentheid geneem te wees (twee snitte 0-5 sek en 5-8 sek) voordat dit van sekonde 9 tot omtrent 25 die geveg verbeeld. Met 'n kamerahoek vanaf Groep1 se sig na die skare verbeeld in Video_1.
Die aksie wat opval in Video_2 is dat ten minste twee lede (SP5&SP6) (links-middel van voertuig sekonde 22-24) met sarsies outomatiese vuur van R5's in die rigting van die rampokkers skiet. Wat baie duidelik is, is dat die rig van die wapens na onder is.
Wat skryend is, is dat SP5 omtrent fisies beveel moet word om te staak vuur, deur lid SP7 (links-voor van voertuig). Lid SP7 het heeltyd sy wapen in veiligheid na onder gehou sonder om te vuur.
Die einde van die geveg staan omtrent elke polisielid met 'n wapen gereed vir afweer van nog moontlike aanvalle. Op een van die ander videos kan gesien word dat 'n pistool deur 'n polisieman ontneem is.
Op Video_1 word daar beeldmateriaal van, of Tactical Response Team of National Intervention Unit, (die ouens met die berets) gewys. DWS nie gewone polisie nie, maar wel spes vir skarebeheer. Op die oog af lyk dit eerder as 'n klomp oppad sokker toe.
Daar is ook kort snitte waar gepanserde cammo voertuig getoon word wat baie lyk soos 'n dubbelkajuit Mamba (nie kennis van die voertuig nie), met skynbaar weermag troepe agterop. Wat maak hulle presies daar? Is dit 'n noodtoestand, indien wel, wanneer was dit uitgeroep?
Die videos se gehalte is nie so goed nie, maar dis wat beskikbaar is.
Dit is glad nie so maklik om bo alle twyfel te bepaal wie het eerste gevuur, of wat die situasie was, nie en daarom is dit so vreemd dat party mense sommer reeds besluit het wat presies daar aangegaan het.
Vir 'n eerlike, dog subjektiewe, opinie, die volgende:
* Wat opval is dat, uit die samevoeging van 'n paar snitte uit verskeie videos, die vooraf situasie soos 'n markplein lyk by 'n sokker byeenkoms.
* Daar is allerhande beweging heen en terug sonder ooglopende doel, en is dus skynbaar doellose optrede deur die polisie.
* Die situasie is sedert 13 Aug 2012 deur die kommisaris van polisie gemonitor.
* Die nuusstorie het ook sedert dan baie wye dekking en word daar bespiegel dat groot moeilikheid oppad is.
* Dit is duidelik dat die aanloop op strategiese vlak reeds vroeg begin het en deur die opperbevel gedoen is.
* Die terrein wat deur die polisie beheer was, skyn swak gekies te wees - selfs al is die terrein afhanklik van die koppie waarop die rampokkers gebly het.
* Die skarebeheer maatreels wat toegepas was - lemdraadskerms - was pateties of onvoldoende opgerig en kon maklik deur die rampokkers "gebreach" word.
* Uit Video_1 blyk dit dat SP1 sonder sigbare provokasie begin skiet het, en dan weghardloop.
* Dat daar skote in die grond tussen Groep1 en die rampokkers geskiet is met hoe intensiteit (of baie wapens of outomatiese vuur)
* Dat die divots van die sommige van die skote in die grond duidelik ook vanaf Groep1 is.
* Dat SP5 vuur vanaf 'n posisie waar sy makkers in gevaar is.
* Die slotsom is dat daar GEEN of GEBREKKIGE taktiese bevel en beheer was.
* Lede het ooglopend op eie inisiatief opgetree.
Dit wil lyk asof die gebrek aan nodige bevel en beheer die polisielid op die grond in 'n onmoontlike situasie geplaas het, en dat daar van die polisielede wat ontplooi was in hierdie situasie, nie die persoonlikheid het om daar te wees nie.
Die moeilike situasie waarin die polisie hulleself gevind het was veroorsaak deur RA en die paniekerige eerste skote was vanaf RA lede. Die res is geskiedenis.
Nou word die balans van die land besig gehou met soeke na waarheid, en meer en meer mense se "ons moet wag vir die amptelike ondersoek".
Die amptelike ondersoek word deur RA lede gedoen, en aan die hoof 'n arrogante shortshit kommunis wat graag ander se "oorlogstories" as sy eie verkondig, net om darem te se hoeveel hy vir die struggle gedoen het. O ja, hy het ook die "kulturele waarde" en die "historiese verband" waarbinne "skiet die Boer" gesing word, verdedig by Juju se verhoor. Hy klink soos die "ideale en objektiewe" kandidaat vir die pos, ne!
Dit sou net reg wees as die meerderheid besef dat dit 'n georkestreerde onderdrukking was wat deur die opperhoof en sy hanteerder ten bate van die libelaris beplan was, en dat dit toe dramaties verkeerd geloop agv 'n gebrek aan leierskap. Die situasie was gedoem van die begin af.
Hierdie enkele insident, en die ondersoek daarna, behoort gesien te word vir wat dit is, 'n teken van die mate van totale verval in hierdie land.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Anger as Polmed CEO given R1m increase
Anger as Polmed CEO given R1m increase
A police union has approached the registrar of SA medical schemes to intervene in Polmed. |||
A police union wants registrar of medical schemes to intervene and save the SAPS’s “financially struggling” medical aid after Polmed’s board approved the CEO’s R3.4 million salary.
The move might result in the scheme being placed under administration.
The board of Polmed approved a million rand salary increase for chief executive Mbasa Mxenge, the son of Struggle activist Griffiths Mxenge.
Mxenge allegedly earns R3.4m a year excluding perks.
1 day ago – An Al Jazeera camera shows a striking miner firing a hand pistol moments before 34 people were gunned down by police. WARNING: ...
Anger as Polmed CEO given R1m increase
August 20 2012 at 11:57am
GCWALISILE KHANYILE
A police union wants registrar of medical schemes to intervene and save the SAPS’s “financially struggling” medical aid after Polmed’s board approved the CEO’s R3.4 million salary.
The move might result in the scheme being placed under administration.
The board of Polmed approved a million rand salary increase for chief executive Mbasa Mxenge, the son of Struggle activist Griffiths Mxenge.
Mxenge allegedly earns R3.4m a year excluding perks.
Mpho Nkwinika, president of the SA Police Union (Sapu) said: “All we want to know is, what was this increment based on? If it was performance-based – then this is a serious problem because you can’t reward poor performance.”
Chairman of the Polmed board, Lieutenant-General Nkrumah Mazibuko said there was nothing out of the ordinary about the salary increase. “The board had commissioned the remuneration committee to look into the grading of Polmed staff salaries, including that of the CEO. The process was delayed until the salary review period. “When the board approved the grading and salary increases, everything had to be backdated,” Mazibuko said.
He added that Mxenge’s contract had a provision for performance, but would not be drawn into commenting on the performance.
Dirk Groenewald of Solidarity said it was shocking that Mxenge had received a million rand salary increase when the scheme failed to pay its members’ benefits.
“We had to fight Polmed in court for our members to get their medical benefits. Mxenge and the board must explain how this (salary increase) happened,” Groenewald said.
Sapu had, before approaching the registrar, raised the issue of Mxenge’s salary increase at Polmed’s annual general meeting last month.
In 2008 Mxenge earned R1.4m a year excluding benefits. In 2009 it went up to R1.9m.
In 2010 his salary went up to R3m and in 2011 it increased to R3.4m.
Nkwinika said Polmed became technically bankrupt in the 2009/ 2010 financial year, but was bailed out by the SAPS.
Mxenge did not respond to questions.
At the time when Mxenge was being paid a million rand salary the scheme had performed terribly, prompting the unions to say that Polmed was not getting value for money from their accounting officer.
Sapu said it had reported the salary matter to Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
However, Mthethwa’s spokesman Zweli Mnisi referred the matter to national police commissioner General Riah Phiyega’s office, saying it was an “operational matter”.
From 2000, the SAPS had been contributing R1.5m to Polmed, but in 2009 it was discovered that the SAPS owed the scheme R50m for the non-increase of the state grant.
At least 80 percent of Polmed’s funding comes from the SAPS in the form of a state grant.
The grant is calculated annually in advance as a lump sum which is paid to Polmed in 12 monthly tranches. The remaining 20 percent of the funding comes from member contributions.
Police spokesman Lindela Mashigo said: “The SAPS is not in a position to comment on salary matters of a separate entity.”
According to the scheme’s annual reports, Polmed’s ratio increased to 36 percent by the end of 2010 and by 2011 the scheme recorded a R700m net surplus which translates to 45.64 percent solvency level.
Polmed is also losing millions because of an “unusual arrangement” between resigned SAPS members and the scheme.
SAPS members who have resigned are claiming the right to pay only the “member contribution”, despite the fact that they are neither employees nor pensioners of the police. In March 2009, a forensic accounting firm – Fifth Quadrant – estimated Polmed’s losses of covering private members at R319m.
gcwalisile.khanyile@inl.co.za
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Important contact details
Tel: 0860 765 633 or 0860 POLMED
Fax: 0860 104 114
POLMED CLIENT SERVICE CENTRE
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CLAIMS, MEMBERSHIP AND CONTRIBUTIONS:
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MEMBERSHIP DEPARTMENT: Fax: 0861 888 110
POLMED/KPMG FRAUD HOTLINE: 0800 200 564
E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SUBMITTING ENQUIRIES: polmed@mhg.co.za
POLMED WEBSITE: http://www.polmed.co.za/
Tokyo Sexwale and the DRC's Mr Grab
A $150-million investment ties Tokyo Sexwale to a controversial Israeli businessman as he pulled off the "heist" of a prize mining asset in the DRC. OUR COVERAGE ANC's top six wade into OR Tambo chaos Tokyo Sexwale's Mvelaphanda empire dwindles MORE COVERAGE Sexwale says it would be 'an honour to serve' Politically connected BEE players losing status
The name of Dan Gertler, the Israeli, has become synonymous with "grabbing and flipping" – he allegedly used his relationship with politicians to bag Democratic Republic of Congo mineral concessions, stripped from others if necessary, only to sell them on at great profit. He most controversially flipped the multibillion-rand Kolwezi tailings project, stripped from Canada's First Quantum Minerals, to a London-listed miner in 2010. Gertler, who strenuously denies wrongdoing, earned the wrath of anti-corruption campaigners and much negative publicity, but Sexwale and his associates' proximity to these events has gone unreported.
And while there is no evidence that Sexwale or his associates actively participated in the Kolwezi grab and flip, they arguably sailed very close to the wind after investing $150-million with Gertler two years earlier. That investment involved them partnering Gertler as he sold Kalukundi, a separate concession "grabbed" by a third party, back to its original owner. Kalukundi grab
The Kalukundi concession, located in the heart of the south-eastern DRC copper belt, was worth fighting over. A December 2006 expert report predicted high yields of copper and cobalt should a mine be developed, which would pay for itself in less than four years. At the time Kalukundi was owned by Congolese company Swanmines, which was part-owned by Canadian miner Africo Resources.
Africo listed in Toronto that month, seeking capital to develop the mine and start digging. In April 2007, Africo was readying a large share offer, hoping to raise more than $130-million. It also bought more shares in Swanmines to become its majority shareholder and gain firm control of Kalukundi. Or so it thought. Another company appeared, claiming to be the true owner of Africo's stake, having "bought" it for a measly $600 000 from a former Africo employee, who claimed he was entitled to sell it to enforce a labour-related debt judgment.
Both the debt judgment and the sale in execution were allegedly done in secret, without Africo being informed. This unleashed a slew of litigation. Africo brought judicial misconduct motions against three judges and sought to have the "sale" of its stake nullified. But without legal certainty, Africo had to can the $130-million share offer, leaving it increasingly out of pocket as the dispute dragged on in DRC courts. In a letter to shareholders, Africo summarised the "perplexing and frustrating" state of its litigation, voicing "a profound sense of grievance at what is clearly an attempted theft of [the] asset by third parties through the systematic misuse of the judicial system".
Enter Gertler … and Vipar Africo was over a barrel when Gertler, a confidant of DRC President Joseph Kabila, entered with an offer it could hardly refuse: he would buy out the intruder company to make the legal problem go away, while buying a controlling stake in Africo itself, capitalising it at last. The deal was concluded in July 2008, with Africo selling new shares worth about $100-million to a Gertler company, while paying for the return of the lost Swanmines stake with shares worth about $13.5-million.
This gave the Gertler company, Camrose Resources, a 63% controlling stake in Africo. Africo chair Chris Theodoropoulos said: "In hindsight, the $100-million financing by Camrose was of great benefit to Africo and its shareholders. Given the economic turbulence of the times, and Africo's legal difficulties in the DRC, we were unlikely to find other investors of this magnitude." But Gertler was not alone. In announcing the deal, Africo had to disclose that "Vipar Investments Limited has made certain credit facilities available" to Gertler's Camrose and that "Vipar may become a direct or indirect holder of securities of Africo pursuant to the terms of the facility ." Put differently, Camrose had paid for the Africo acquisition – and presumably whatever millions to pay off the intruder – with a loan from Vipar, which under the terms of the loan had certain rights over Camrose and its assets.
Who was Vipar? Registered in the offshore haven the British Virgin Islands, its ownership would have remained hidden were it not for public documents filed by Camrose reflecting a charge – the equivalent of a mortgage – as security for Vipar's loan. It described Vipar as an affiliate of Africa Management Limited.
Tokyo et al. The latter needs no introduction. Africa Management was set up the previous year, 2007, as a joint venture between Sexwale investment vehicle Mvelaphanda Holdings, its associate company Palladino Holdings, and Och-Ziff Capital Management, a $30-billion New York hedge fund. Set up largely to pursue resource investments in Africa, Africa Management's business model was described by one observer as: "Och-Ziff brings the money; they [Mvela and Palladino] bring the political solutions."
Corporate documents, some leaked and some open source, make it possible to reconstruct further terms: Och-Ziff stumped up a large amount, of which $150-million was on-lent by Africa Management, through its special purpose vehicle Vipar, to Gertler's Camrose. This tied Sexwale's fortunes, together with those of his partners in Africa Management, to those of Gertler. Sexwale declined to comment, saying through a spokesperson: "It is reiterated that no response will be entertained in respect of operations and activities of companies that the minister is no longer in charge of." At the time of the loan, Sexwale was still executive chair of Mvela. After his appointment to Cabinet in 2009, trusts associated with him retained their beneficial interest in Mvela.
More than a loan In the two years following Sexwale and his associates' loan to Camrose in 2008, Gertler was associated with several alleged grabs and flips, enhancing his reputation as a businessman who used his close relationship with Kabila and Kabila's now late adviser Augustin Katumba Mwanke to profit from privileged access to DRC assets. Seen from a distance, Sexwale and his associates were no more than arms-length lenders through Vipar to Gertler. But on closer examination the $150-million loan was secured in a way that made it more of a co-investment, giving them significant rights to Camrose even though Gertler was the formal owner.
At the time of the loan, Camrose amended its incorporation documents to reflect the relationship. Significantly, Vipar was entitled to convert its loan to equity, making it a full co-owner. But in the absence of it doing so it still had rights, including: It was party to a shareholders' agreement with Gertler; It held the right to appoint an observer to Camrose's board It was party to the creation of a three-year business plan for Camrose, helping to devise its strategic direction; and Gertler needed Vipar's consent before any Camrose shares or assets could be sold. In this light, it may be asked what insight Sexwale and his associates had into Gertler's more controversial activities, and whether they should not have extricated themselves as the reputational risk grew.
Kolwezi grab Two years and a month after Sexwale and company had invested with Gertler, he perfected the alleged heist that caused the greatest uproar from anti-corruption campaigners. In brief: Toronto-listed First Quantum Minerals (alongside South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation and DRC state miner Gecamines, among others) owned the prized Kolwezi copper and cobalt tailings project in south-eastern DRC. By late 2009 First Quantum had, according a subsequent court filing, spent $430-million readying Kolwezi for production, which was imminent. But it came under increasing pressure from the authorities, who unceremoniously revoked its concession in January 2010 and passed it on to a new joint venture encompassing state-owned Gecamines (30%) and the mysterious Highwind group of companies (70%), registered in the British Virgin Islands. By August 2010, Gertler presided over a simultaneous set of transactions that saw both the completion of the grab and the flip, as follows: Camrose – the Gertler company in which Sexwale and company had invested – acquired the Highwind group and then sold half of Camrose to the London-listed Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation – so putting Eurasian and Gertler in joint control of Kolwezi Eurasian faced heated criticism as it appeared to have enabled even the initial grab through the back flow of its purchase consideration of $175-million – which happened to be way below the many hundreds, if not billions of dollars Kolwezi was worth by then.
Even Eurasian appeared concerned, filing a "suspicious activity report" with British authorities as required under anti-corruption legislation. The report said: "There is a risk that the assets of the Highwind group may have been obtained by corruption and the transaction [Eurasian's acquisition of half of Camrose] may facilitate the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by the Highwind Group-Dan Gertler and others, and may result in corrupt payments being made to public officials." Exit Sexwale But what of Sexwale, his associates and their loan?
The question remains how Gertler could have pulled off the transaction without their knowledge – he even used Camrose, over which they had say, for its completion. But perhaps to their credit, they exited Camrose in the same transaction, transferring the loan obligation to another Gertler company, its repayment guaranteed by Eurasian.
The loan is due for repayment two years on – next week. Players in saga respond A Gertler spokesperson said: "We reject all three words that you use: 'Serially' – you give one example, which we reject as below, hardly a series. 'Grabbed' – we acquired assets at a fair price, hardly a grab. 'Flipped' – we brought in a partner, attracting significant investment to the project and the country. Since when does attracting significant inward investment become a "flip"? We totally and absolutely reject any and all accusations of impropriety."
A lawyer for Mvelaphanda Holdings said: "Mvela's relationship with all of its associates and all of Mvela's activities are conducted in accordance with the highest ethical standards and market practice." Och-Ziff declined and Palladino failed to comment. * Got a tip-off for us about this story? Email amabhungane@mg.co.za The M&G Centre for Investigative Journalism (amaBhungane) produced this story. All views are ours.
See www.amabhungane.co.za for our stories, activities and funding sources. Mail & Guardian
Comments by Sonny
Is Tokyo walking the tight rope between Russia and Israel? Or is he just the "Middle Man" making a few Dollars more? While the Minister is playing stocks and shares, who is running his portfolio in Parliament and on the ground? The results speak for themselves!
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