Publication: Mail and Guardian
Issued:
Date: 2007-12-07
Reporter: Lloyd Gedye
| Publication |
Mail and Guardian
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| Date |
2007-12-07
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Reporter
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Lloyd Gedye
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Web Link
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www.mg.co.za
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African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma has been on
an international mission, addressing investors across the world, some of whom
have been worried about what would happen to the South African economy should he
take over as president. However, some of those who arranged the meetings with
investors are themselves colourful and controversial characters. We profile two:
George Friedman and Paul Ekon.
George Friedman
American intelligence analyst George Friedman recently hosted and
facilitated ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma's visit to the United States to meet
senior American businessmen.
Friedman is the CEO of Strategic Forecasting Incorporated, or Stratfor, as it is
more commonly known, which he founded in 1996.
Stratfor is an American intelligence company that is said to have been
influential in shaping American foreign policy post-9/11.
Stratfor, which lists the CIA as one of its clients, conducts work for
multinational corporations, government spy agencies and private investors.
Friedman studied political science at the City College of New York and then
accepted a teaching post at Dickinson College in 1974, where he taught for
almost 20 years.
In 1994 Friedman founded the Centre for Geopolitical Studies at Louisiana State
University, which conducted integrated economic, political and military
modelling and forecasting.
Friedman describes himself as a conservative Republican.
Stratfor released a statement earlier this week confirming it had facilitated
Zuma's trip. "Mr Zuma spent several days in Austin, Texas, in private meetings
with senior US leaders of global business, investment and education," said the
statement.
Friedman said he was "tremendously impressed" with
Zuma, who he described as a "very gracious man. I learned a great deal from him
about South Africa and about leadership," said Friedman.
Paul Ekon
Flamboyant multi-millionaire Paul Ekon, who recently hosted Zuma during his
meetings with United Kingdom business leaders, has a
chequered past.
Ekon (48) is said to have developed contacts within the
ANC after the organisation was unbanned in 1990, which continued until he
left the country in the mid-1990s amid speculation that he was under police
scrutiny for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of a
R4,8-million consignment of unwrought gold *1.
The police had linked the consignment, which was seized at Johannesburg
International Airport in June 1995, to a syndicate, which they said had
smuggled more than five tons of gold to Europe and Britain
*1.
Ekon first rose to public attention when former ANC MP Bantu Holomisa alleged
that hotel magnate Sol Kerzner had paid for Thabo Mbeki's 50th birthday party in
1992.
Ekon claimed that it was he who had paid for the party, which was hosted at his
Houghton home, along with co-sponsors Yusuf Surtee and Charles Priebatsch.
Ekon is also said to have provided ANC officials with cellular phones and
handguns. He joined Johannesburg's fast set when he inherited a large amount of
money from his mother, some time around 1986.
He ran a number of businesses, including a restaurant in Rosebank called the Hot
Tin Roof, and a cosmetics outlet in Hyde Park called Accent, which he used to
market Anneline Kriel's perfume range.
With acknowledgements to Lloyd Gedye and Mail and Guardian.
*1 The unwrought gold was obtained
from gold amalgam smuggled by workers out of nearly every gold mine in the
country.
Then there was the complexity of extraction of the metal out of the amalgam and
then the metal out of the country.
Most of the gold went to Geneva.
The internal operations were mainly handled by three South Africans and the
external operations by two Europeans.
Four of these five are mentioned in this article.
R100 to the mountain gorillas of the Congo for any response correctly pointing
out the Famous Four.
R200 to the mountain gorillas of the Congo for any response correctly pointing
out the Famous Five.
Also mentioned in this article are some other persons who are meant to be
between them the trustees of two trust, one registered in the United Kingdom and
the other in Florida, where the beneficiary is someone among us.
The proceeds of the theft and smuggling were split to finance the political
ambitions of some among us in the 1994 elections.
One for you, one for me and one for the ay let's see.
Thereafter the amalgam game became too risky and too small, so the Arms Deal was
invented for the 1999 election.
By 2007 the Arms Deal and Oil Deals had become too small, so it was decided to
immediately spend first R150 billion and later a further R850 billion on power
stations and that the ruling party should get 15% of the spoils through its
investment company Chancellor House Holdings.
So the chances are that we will never get this particular species of gorilla off
our backs.
[With all due respect to the mountain gorillas of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda]
In the meantime, we can have some sport with elephants.
Umgungunhlovu.