A letter from Don Mkhwanazi cites Thabo Mbeki as the “top command” of his black-empowerment bank, reports Mungo Soggot
The offices of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki and businessman Don Mkhwanazi this week sought to dispel suggestions that Mbeki was closely involved with the Malaysian-backed bank Mkhwanazi chairs.
Senior staffers at the bank, including its former general manager, Stuart Schwabe, claim Mbeki was in high-level talks surrounding the bank’s launch.
The Mail & Guardian has also obtained a letter written by Mkhwanazi in which the businessman refers to Mbeki as the “top command” of Southern Bank of Africa, supposedly a leading vehicle for black empowerment. The bank is one of the most important Malaysian deals to be struck in South Africa.
Mbeki’s office has denied any involvement in the bank. “We place on record that Deputy President Mbeki did not help arrange any start-up capital for the bank, nor did his office monitor developments related to the bank,” said his representative, Ricky Naidoo.
Mkhwanazi’s letter came to light at Schwabe’s disciplinary inquiry late last month. He was found guilty and fired after castigating and questioning the competence of the bank’s Malaysian boss.
Schwabe had warned Mkhwanazi the bank was hopelessely behind schedule if it wanted to open as a retail operation this year. Ironically, the day after he was fired, the bank informed its staff that it had frozen its retail banking plans and had retrenched staff.
Southern Bank of Africa was officially formed in January last year as a joint venture between Mkhwanazi’s National Empowerment Trust Investment Fund and the Malaysian Killinghall group.
Mkhwanazi’s associate Guy Vezi confirmed the letter’s authenticity, but said it did not imply that Mbeki’s office called the shots at the bank. He added that Mkhwanazi’s team had kept the deputy president “informed of developments” at the bank – a contradiction of Naidoo’s statement.
In the letter to one of the bank’s Malaysian backers in October last year, Mkhwanazi expressed anger at being excluded from their plans to buy a Mozambican bank for the group.
“I noted with interest in yesterday’s newspapers your acquisition of a Mozambican bank. I in fact received a call yesterday afternoon from the deputy president’s office to inquire whether Southern was involved in this transaction … Obviously not having been privy to your incursions into Mozambique, I was most embarrassed to say the least.
“Our understanding, and that of our top command, is that Southern is set to play a role in Southern Africa as a springboard to penetrate the continent of Africa. It is against this background that the inquiry from his office should be understood.”
Schwabe’s disciplinary inquiry was chaired by Mkhwanazi’s long-time associate Keith Kunene, who said it was improper for Mkhwanazi to have given Schwabe the letter. Mkhwanazi’s office claimed Schwabe had obtained the letter illicitly.
Schwabe denies this, adding that it was he – not the office of the deputy president – who alerted Mkhwanazi to the Mozambican deal. Schwabe says he asked for the letter to be read in camera at his disciplinary hearing, but Kunene refused. Schwabe said he handed the letter in to give the inquiry a taste of the relationship between Mkhwanazi and the Malaysians.
Naidoo confirmed that Schwabe telephoned Mbeki’s economic adviser, Moss Ngoasheng, on the eve of his disciplinary inquiry last month. “Mr Ngoasheng did receive a call from a Mr Schwabe and was informed that the matter of his dismissal was a personal issue. It was not a matter for the office of the deputy president.”
Schwabe has a different version. He says Ngoasheng said he would ask Mbeki’s legal adviser, Mojanku Gumbi, to contact him. The next morning Mkhwanazi telephoned Schwabe to wish him good luck. Schwabe also says Gumbi telephoned him, expressed her concern and indicated she would take the matter further.
Mkhwanazi dismisses suggestions that Mbeki helped arrange the bank’s R50-million start-up capital. Mkhwanazi has worked for Mbeki in the past and has retained strong ties with him as one of the country’s leading proponents of black empowerment.
Southern’s human resources manager, Heather Carper, says she understood there had been high-level discussions between the governments of Malaysia and South Africa about setting up the bank.
Malaysia’s prime minister had then “chatted to” Malaysian banking giant Dato Tan. Mkhwanazi’s fund eventually secured R50- million from Malaysia.
Schwabe says he was informed it was Mbeki who held these initial discussions and had then dispatched Mkhwanazi to Malaysia to procure the bank’s start-up cash.
Carper says for the time being the bank will concentrate on treasury and foreign-exchange operations. She says it is difficult to take on South Africa’s banking majors in the retail market. It is unclear why such problems were not raised before the bank’s launch.
She says Schwabe’s disciplinary inquiry was one of the fairest she has ever witnessed. Schwabe was accused, among other things, of referring to the bank’s CEO, Nathan Balakrishnan, as “your imminence [sic]”, according to a charge sheet sent to him in February.
Schwabe wrote several letters to Mkhwanazi, complaining about Balakrishnan’s performance. The letters listed how the bank was far behind schedule if it wanted to open as a retail operation this year. “Mkhwanazi asked me to keep him informed.”
Schwabe says he has been the victim of the mismanagement that triggered the collapse of Malaysia’s economy last year. “It is very sad that, without any retail or commercial operation, it will be very difficult to fulfil its admirable black economic empowerment objectives. I have always had the bank’s interests and those of its South African shareholders and its employees at heart. I supported Mkhwanazi to the end.”
Mkhwanazi has often talked publicly of links with Mbeki – such as when the scandal first broke surrounding his appointment, when he was chief of the state oil company, the Central Energy Fund, of Liberian financier Emanuel Shaw II as a R3-million consultant. He swiftly ceased such references as the scandal gathered pace. Mkhwanazi resigned as chair of the Central Energy Fund earlier this month.
The bank last year employed International Advisory Services, the consultancy run by Shaw and a fellow Liberian, which was given the state oil company contract.