A member of the Gauteng legislature, the Freedom Front Plus’s Jaco Mulder, on Tuesday made a second attempt to buy “blacks-only” Eyethu shares from Nedbank.
In a statement, Mulder — who is his party’s provincial leader — said he officially handed in his application to his Nedbank branch in Krugersdorp for his Eyethu shares.
Mulder spoke to the Mail & Guardian Online after he made the application. He said Nedbank had accepted it and he was waiting for formal approval from the bank.
If Nedbank rejects Mulder’s application, he said, he will take the bank to the Equality Court because it would then be classifying him by race.
“I see myself as an African. If they accept it, then they’re accepting me as an African, which I am,” he added.
Mulder previously was prevented from applying for Eyethu shares because the scheme was only open to black people — including coloured, Indian and Chinese clients.
Subsequently, a white person, Clinton Kuypers, was allowed to buy the shares — which led to the FF+ opting not to lodge a formal complaint with the JSE and the security regulating panel.
Mulder welcomed the change of heart of Nedbank.
“I would like to motivate every South African who views him/or herself as part of the African continent, to follow my example and to apply, as Africans, to participate in the third allocation of shares in Nedbanks’ Eyethu scheme, which will lapse on November 15 2005,” Mulder said.
“My ancestors date back more than 300 years in South Africa. We know no other continent other than Africa and as Afrikaners we are as dedicated to this continent as any other person.
“We have finished with the practices of racial classifications and racial discrimination. We therefore welcome Nedbank’s decision to not allow these practices to be reinstituted and look forward to being part of the scheme.”