HUNDREDS of members from South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) marched on the premises of Optimum Coal Mine owing to fears they might not be paid as the mine was owned by Gupta family company, Tegeta Resources.
The financial well-being of Tegeta Resources has been in the spotlight following the widely publicised curtailment of Gupta family access to capital following allegations of graft involving former president, Jacob Zuma, and his family. The Bank of Baroda, which was the last lender to do business with the Guptas, is leaving South Africa. In addition, South Africa’s chief prosecutor declared Ajay Gupta, one of the three Gupta brothers a “… fugitive from justice” last week.
“Our members are concerned that they might not get paid this Friday because the Bank of Baroda was handling their payments,” NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu told Reuters. Mammburu told the newswire that NUM members at the coal mine were also anxious about the future of the mine and were wondering if it had been sold or not.
