Mungo Soggot
Central Energy Fund chair Don Mkhwanazi tried to crush government opposition to his appointment of Emanuel Shaw II with a string of threatening letters to the civil servant who raised the alarm.
The Mail & Guardian is in possession of two letters Mkhwanazi wrote to Deputy Director General of Minerals and Energy Gordon Sibiya last September, in which Mkhwanazi slates Sibiya and raises doubts about Minister of Minerals and Energy Penuell Maduna for appointing him.
“I’m really concerned not only for PM [Penuell Maduna] but for yourself. Some people are a danger unto themselves,” the lengthy letter says.
Sibiya confirmed receipt of the letter, saying it is one of four “insulting” dispatches he received from Mkhwanazi in the last week of September 1997, after he questioned his appointment of Shaw. He says of the “danger” letter: “I saw this one as very scary, but I wasn’t quite sure what it meant.”
Mkhwanazi finishes: “This letter is written to you in my personal capacity. In no way should it interfere with your democratic rights and your ability to apply diligence in an objective manner. I’m devastated. Totally disappointed.”
Sibiya has vigorously opposed Mkhwanazi’s decision to recruit Shaw, right-hand man to former Liberian dictator Samuel Doe and now a top official in the government of President Charles Taylor.
It is now more than four months since the Shaw scandal exploded, implicating Mkhwanazi in blatant examples of corruption and mismanagement. The Durban businessman is very close to Shaw, who has been transferring money from one of his accounts into one of Mkhwanazi’s private accounts.
But Mkhwanazi, an African National Congress stalwart and one-time economic adviser to Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, is still batting off suggestions he acted improperly.
He has now launched a full-blown campaign against Sibiya and Thulani Gcabashe, the special adviser to the minerals and energy ministry who also opposed the Shaw appointment.
In another letter, Mkhwanazi expresses concern about how Gcabashe came to know about Shaw’s contract. One of Gcabashe’s duties was to clear all state oil company expenditure.
Nevertheless, Mkhwanazi wrote: “How did Gcabashe come to that knowledge? We have nothing to hide but there have been too many goings on which impinge on Central Energy Fund integrity …”
Mkhwanazi this week explained his conspiracy theory to the Financial Mail, saying Sibiya and Gcabashe wanted to oust him because he was blocking their plans to privatise the state oil company. Mkhwanazi said Sibiya was involved in one of the consortiums that wanted to buy the state oil company.
Sibiya is chair of the Science and Engineering Academy of South Africa, which was a member of a consortium whose proposal was never discussed by the board. He scoffed at the idea that it had a financial interest in the deal.
Mkhwanazi meanwhile brushed off the M&G’s recent report on how he receives “kickbacks” from Shaw, saying: “I never received a cent from Shaw.” He declined to comment further.
Both the public protector and the Office for Serious Economic Offences are investigating the matter after commandeering bank statements that prove Shaw pumped money into one of Mkhwanazi’s accounts.
Mkhwanazi’s attempt to clear his name follows a dramatic U-turn by Maduna, who is now standing by both Mkhwanazi and Shaw.
Maduna has scotched the findings of the internal inquiry he appointed into Shaw’s R3-million appointment after promising to follow its recommendations.
The probe recommended Shaw, Mkhwanazi and the rest of the Central Eenergy Fund board be sacked after accusing Mkhwanazi of trampling basic corporate governance rules and of having a personal interest in Shaw’s appointment. Shaw’s renewable one-year contract – worth R3-million a year – remains intact.
Maduna’s about-face – which followed a lengthy meeting with Mkhwanazi – has brought him into direct conflict with Sibiya and Gcabashe. Maduna did not discuss his opinion of the inquiry with the man who headed it, former acting director general Dick Bakker.
The Department of Minerals and Energy has been wracked by the conflict, with several senior resignations likely in the near future. It is understood Maduna has few senior allies in his department.
Mkhwanazi’s lawyers, Mooney Ford & Partners, have now demanded full transcripts of the Bakker inquiry after Mkhwanazi threatened to sue Maduna. His lawyers are referring to Sibiya as the “chief complainant” against Mkhwanazi.
Sibiya says he hopes Mkhwanazi does sue because “I will enjoy facing him in court. My loyalty is to the department and to the government, and not to Mkhwanazi.” Mooney Ford & Partners is the same firm that last year set up International Advisory Services, the company named in Shaw’s contract with the Central Energy Fund.
It is still unclear what Maduna plans to do with Mkhwanazi and the fund’s board, whose contracts expire in three weeks. After the Bakker inquiry released its findings, the Department of Minerals and Energy advertised for new board members.
Maduna this week refused to answer any questions about his handling of the matter, slamming the phone down on the M&G.
Mkhwanazi’s Durban office had not reached him for comment at the time of going to press.