Report
says company raises money for the ruling party
The African National
Congress has set up a front company called Chancellor House that was awarded
several lucrative state tenders, a policy paper published on Friday by the
Institute for Security Studies (ISS) claimed.
The paper, co-authored by
Mail & Guardian journalists Vicki Robinson and Stefaans Brümmer, alleged
that Chancellor House has entered business on behalf of the ANC and is
answerable to the party’s treasurer-general, Mendi Msimang.
“The
Chancellor House group of companies has quietly accumulated
empowerment stakes in minerals, energy, engineering, logistics and information
technology. More often that not, these business
opportunities have been dependent on the government’s discretion the
award of state tenders, mineral rights and the like,” the paper reads.
A
shortened version of the paper was published in the Mail & Guardian
yesterday in what Robinson described as only the “first instalment”.
According to the ISS paper, Chancellor House, also the name of the
building that once housed the law firm of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo,
focuses on mining and energy.
“According to one well-placed official who
wants to remain anonymous, Msimang approached the Department of Minerals and
Energy as early as 2002 seeking opportunities for Chancellor House,” the paper
stated.
In 2004, said the official, Chancellor House “kept trying to
get deals from the department. It said the money was for the ANC”.
The Chancellor House Trust
is the sole shareholder of Chancellor House Holdings and is described as
“charitable trust”. Trustees include ANC national executive committee member
Popo Molefe and Salukazi Dakile-Hlongwane, chief executive of Nozala
Investments. The founder of the trust is Bernard Magubane, the ANC
historian-activist.
The founding directors include Sivi Gounden, former
ANC chief whip in the National Council of Provinces, and trade unionist and MTN
director Irene Charnley. Both have since resigned as directors.
The
managing director of the company is the former deputy secretary for defence,
Mamatho Netsianda *1.
Robinson said that
during their research, accounts from three business people who have close
knowledge of the company were obtained, which show that
Chancellor House is a source of funding for the ANC.
Apart from
these three, others have also spoken about their knowledge, direct or indirect,
of Chancellor’s ANC connection.
The company and its subsidiaries have
won prospecting rights to potentially lucrative manganese reserves in the
Kalahari and a tender to build an Eskom power station worth R26 million. It is
also in the running for several other multi-million rand deals from government.
“In the main, South Africa’s economic transition is creating a
capitalist class that operates within the sphere of capital
accumulation fostered by close connections to the state and the ruling ANC
*2,” the paper reads.
With acknowledgement to The Witness.
*1Acting Secretary for Defence
from the time Lt Gen Pierre Steyn was conveniently gotten out of the way until 1
December 1999 when replaced by January Masilela, who signed the Arms Deal
contracts two days later.
It is quite clear that Mbeki, Modise et al not
only wanted Lt Gen Steyn out of the picture as he was so critical of the
irregular acquisition processes being forced upon him, but that they wanted
Chippy Shaik who as Chief of Acquisitions reported to the Secretary for Defence,
to be able to act without control or interference from his line manager. They
therefore got a lame duck acting SoD to act for the entire period of selection
and contract negotiation and then appointed Masilela just in time to
"regularise" the signature of the contracts by the SoD. Now neither Netsianda
nor Masilela can be held accountable for the irregularities that inevitably
popped out of the regulatory and forensic audits.
Now Modise is dead,
Chippy Shaik is ousted with the biggest sword of Mbeki hanging over his mouth
and the main honcho simply lies about all his dealings with the corrupt French
and Germans.