Mail & Guardian reporter
The Mail & Guardian has had a glimpse of the financial rewards enjoyed by Don Mkhwanazi, the former chair of the Central Energy Fund whose decision to hire Emanuel Shaw II, his friend and businesss associate, triggered the state oil scandal.
Documents obtained by the M&G show that in 1996 Mkhwanazi was earning R2,4-million a year and he held assets worth more than R7-million. This was before he was appointed to head the state oil fund by Minister of Minerals and Energy Penuell Maduna.
Mkhwanazi owned four properties, including a R1,3-million house in Hillcrest and three timeshares. His shareholdings included R3,5-million in a company called Dynamo Investments and R640 000 in Freightliner.
He earned R1,2-million a year in salaries from the Southern African Bank – which was still in the process of being formed – Marketing & Management Renaissance and the National Empowerment Trust Investment Fund. A retainer as a consultant with the Phaphama Corporation earned him R600 000, and dividends from investments a further R330 000. He held 11 directorships, including the chair of the National Empowerment Trust.