Mungo Soggot
Department of Trade and Industry department officials have been soliciting thousands of rands from the cream of South Africa’s exporters by demanding R10 000 cash cheques from companies keen to bring guests to a gala dinner. The November 26 banquet is supposed to be addressed by President Nelson Mandela, who is billed to present awards to top exporters. The R10 000-a- table scheme is at odds with the department’s practice of not charging guests for the bash. Senior officials this week denied cash cheques had been demanded.
However, a junior official in the department’s communications division told a Mail & Guardian reporter posing as a company executive who wanted to secure a table the fee would be R10 000, payable with a cash cheque.
He explained that companies “must give a cash cheque, so that as soon as we establish a fund for that, the cheques will definitely go into that account”. He said other companies had paid with cash cheques. The official, Roy Moathlodi, said the cheques had to be made out cash because “the money is not going to the department”.
At least one company has complained in writing to the office of the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alec Erwin, about the extraordinary demand. The M&G is also in possession of a fax from a company expressing amazement at the demand for cash cheques.
The banquet will mark the end of “export week”. A representative in Erwin’s office said: “To the best of my knowledge, no one pays to come to this dinner.”
When asked for comment, the department’s senior officials effectively blamed Moathlodi for “erroneously” telling companies and the M&G that the department was demanding cash cheques.
When approached for comment, the department’s chief director of export and investment promotion, Faizel Ismael, said he was not “directly involved in the organisation of the banquet”, and referred all queries to Themba Rubushe, the department’s communications chief.
Rubushe expressed shock at the suggestion that cash cheques were being demanded. “What? No, that’s wrong.” When told that cheques were purportedly going into a fund or account that had yet to be created, Rubushe said: “They were supposed to have sorted that out by now. The whole thing was aimed at integrating with the Jobs Summit. I am not directly involved in this thing. Charities have names. They should have a name for the charity.”
Rubushe said it was unacceptable that cash cheques were being demanded “because that will corrupt the person who receives the cheque. Even the pope may be tempted.” He promised to investigate further.
The M&G then phoned the department’s Director General, Zav Rustomjee, who suggested the M&G speak to Ismael. Rustomjee asked whether receipts were being issued for the cheques and promised to investigate.
Next, the M&G asked Moathlodi whether he had received instructions from his superiors to demand cash cheques. Moathlodi said he could not comment “until such time as I have spoken to my principals”.
About an hour later, Ismael telephoned the M&G and said the money for the tickets would offset the cost of the dinner. He said nobody had yet paid any cheques. “We haven’t opened an account for the cheques and nobody has as yet made any payments. Nobody has paid any cheques. We have asked people to pay those cheques into the department, and it would then be paid into another account. I spoke to Roy [Moathlodi]. He said to me you did ask him whether he has said to anyone that he took a cash cheque and he denies having ever said such a thing.”
Ismael, unaware of the written complaint to the ministry, then said if Moathlodi had “said something to you erroneously and is now trying to cover up or whatever we will try and establish that and if he did say something erroneously to you, then he must clarify it with you and just apologise”.
Rubushe said it was not policy to take cash cheques. He said cheques were to be made out to the department, which would pay the money to the treasury. He said the department was still securing treasury authorisation. No cheques had been received, he said.