Kase Lawal, the man who scooped South Africa’s Nigerian oil deal, was quoted in a 1999 interview as saying that to team up with local partners is the best way to navigate ”cumbersome” government bureaucracy. ”We add financing and technical expertise, and they provide political landscape experience, relationships and credibility.”
Lawal, true to his word, went to the inner circle in South Africa to make his project fly.
The company that signed for the Nigerian oil deal is the South African Oil Company, registered in the Cayman Islands. Apart from a 75% shareholding by Lawal’s United States-based Camac Group, the ownership of this entity is opaque.
But, as detailed elsewhere, the company that was the originally intended beneficiary was a company by the same name, registered in South Africa.
This company is 49% owned by Camac Group entities and has some Lawal representatives on the board. The rest of the directors and shareholders reads like a who’s who of African National Congress connections.
They are:
Nomusa Mufamadi, wife of Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi (executive director, 5% shareholder). She was actively involved in the company and functions performed in exercising the contract, insiders say. She failed to return calls this week.
Hintsa Siwisa (chair, 11%), brother-in-law of Eastern Cape Premier Makhenkesi Stofile. He was actively involved. He confirms his involvement and says that the local entity did enjoy some benefit.
Leswika Women Investments (5%), a Limpopo-based company that in 1999 included Mathuding Ramathlodi, wife of Limpopo Premier Ngoako Ramathlodi. A representative for the company confirms there were some negotiations with another Lawal entity, but says it never received share certificates and left it at that.
Tor Trading (3%), an Eastern Cape women’s group that includes Nosipho Damasane, a top ports official in the Eastern Cape. Damasane confirms discussions with a related Lawal entity, but says she has not heard of the name ”South African Oil Company”. She adds: ”The danger with some of these deals is you submit your profile and you know nothing.”
Eastern Cape Anti-Poverty Foundation (2%), a charity headed by Eastern Cape First Lady Nambita Stofile. She could not be reached for comment.
Morgan Creek Properties 19 (25%). This is a shelf company with no discernable directors or shareholders, and who the intended beneficiaries were remains opaque.
Zwelibanzi ”Miles” Nzama (director), an ANC dealmaker who, together with the party’s treasurer general, Mendi Msimang, runs an entity called the ANC Fundraising Trust.
Brian Casey (director, chief executive), a confidant of current Justice Minister Penuell Maduna.
Women’s Development Bank Investment Holdings (was associated with the company for some time in 1999/2000 and had a 24% shareholding in a related entity), the holding entity of which was chaired by First Lady Zanele Mbeki. The Women’s Development Bank withdrew from the venture, apparently owing to unhappiness with corporate governance issues and as the South Africa venture did not fit its ”investment strategy”.
Rumours have for some time circulating in oil trading circles that the ANC as a party has benefited from the deal. While Nzama’s presence on the board might lend some credence to such a suggestion, Lawal has denied it. Nzama failed to return calls this week and ANC treasurer Msimang failed to respond to questions about Nzama’s role and whether the ANC benefited.
The revenue from the Nigerian oil deal flows to the Cayman Islands, where the duplicate South African Oil Company, the signatory to the deal, is registered. As 75% shareholder the major beneficiary must be Lawal’s Camac Group.
Who the remaining 25% belongs to — and whether that includes any South Africans, including those listed above — remains a mystery. Cayman laws protect that information, and Lawal says it is ”irrelevant”.
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