The African National Congress this week maintained its stony silence on an investment trust run on its behalf by a man accused of peddling influence for shares.
The Mail & Guardian last week reported that Zwelibanzi ”Miles” Nzama manages a trust with the ANC as sole beneficiary. Nzama’s co-trustees are ANC treasurer general Mendi Msimang and businesswoman Nomazizi Mtshotshisa, who is also the chairperson of Telkom.
The trust, named the African National Congress Fundraising Trust and registered in 2000, has as its purpose not only to accept donations but also to hold shares in companies.
The beneficiary is indicated in the trust deed as ”any structure of the ANC” — meaning that the party, albeit indirectly, holds shares in private companies. This is a controversial fundraising mechanism as a potential conflict of interest arises every time a government official who is also an ANC member has to make a decision on a government or parastatal contract for which one of these companies has tendered.
Nzama is at the centre of a controversy, first reported by the M&G a fortnight ago, over a bungled Transnet privatisation tender that may now cost the parastatal, and ultimately the public, R57-million. The Johannesburg High Court last month awarded that amount of damages to Sechaba Photoscan, a company that lost the tender to buy Transnet’s printing division to Skotaville Press, a company in which the ANC allegedly acquired a 20% stake. Transnet wants to appeal, but will challenge only the amount of damages, not the merits.
Sechaba Photoscan claimed in court papers that its fortunes had changed after it rebuffed an offer by Nzama to influence the tender in its favour in return for 15% of its shares. It also claimed that Skotaville Press subsequently did make a share deal with Nzama and/or the ANC.
The ANC this week, for the second week running, failed to answer questions about Nzama’s fundraising activities on its behalf.
Among the questions asked last week, but which remains unanswered, were:
Whether the ANC, directly or indirectly, holds shares in companies; whether such companies have tendered for government or parastatal business and, if so, what steps have been taken to avoid conflicts of interest;
Whether the ANC was willing to disclose such interests; and
Whether the ANC owned a direct of indirect stake in Skotaville Press.
In addition, the M&G asked this week whether Msimang and the ANC were reconsidering their relationship with Nzama in view of the serious allegations made against him in court. That also remains unanswered.
ANC presidency head Smuts Ngonyama this week said he had referred the questions to Msimang, whose assistant said only that the questions had been referred to lawyers.
Nzama has also failed to comment and Thlalefang Sekano, the man who allegedly holds the Skotaville Press shares on behalf of the ANC, has remained consistently unavailable. Sekano is reflected in the Skotaville Press (now renamed African Impression Media) share register as holding 20% of the company’s shares.
Chris Ngcobo, the African Impression Media chief executive, this week said he had ”no reason” to doubt what he said was an assurance from Sekano that he did not hold his 20% on the ANC’s behalf.