[miningmx.com] — AURORA Empowerment Systems director Zondwa
Mandela wants the company’s liquidators to come up with a R1m surety for its court
application against him, despite more than R500m in assets disappearing while its
mines were under his control.
Mandela, fellow director Thulani Ngubane, and Aurora “management consultants’
Solly and Fazel Bhana made the move after the liquidators lodged a Section 424
application to have them held personally financially liable for the assets stripped
from the company’s Grootvlei and Orkney gold mines.
The application is also understood to be a bid to stifle a second application by the
liquidators against the Bhana family, to force them to return millions they siphoned
off from the mines while in control.
Aurora was awarded control of the mines in terms of a preferential bid in October
2009, but failed to come up with the cash to pay the liquidators and creditors of
Pamodzi, which owned the mines but which was under liquidation.
During the Aurora tenure, more than R500m in assets were stolen from the mines,
with a subsequent inquiry ordered into the matter by the Master of the High Court.
Lodging the application in terms of Rule 47 (1) of the Companies Act, Mandela
claimed that the liquidators were joint provisional liquidators of six companies which
were insolvent, in provisional liquidation, and had no assets to pay court costs
should the court rule against the liquidators.
The notice demands that the R1m surety be paid by the liquidators within 10 days. If
they fail to do so, Mandela, Ngubane and the Bhanas will go for a court order forcing
the payment and staying the liquidators’ claims against them.
The application is seen by the liquidators as part of the strategy by the Aurora team
to hinder the legal process against them, which could result in each of them being
personally forced to pay creditors, including the 5,000 workers retrenched from the
two mines.
Spokesperson for the joint provisional liquidators Johan Engelbrecht said they would
“most definitely’ oppose any bid by Mandela and associates to force them to pay
surety.
He said: “We will absolutely oppose this request for security and are busy drawing
up the papers. During the Aurora tenure, the assets disappeared.
“They know that we don’t have these assets, which we are now issuing summons
against the directors and management team to recover.
“They are asking us for security from assets they have dissipated. This is very
questionable.’
– City Press
Miningmx has received the following writing from David Swartz, of
legal firm Phillip Silver & Associates, subsequent to publication:
“I represent the Bhanas, Mandela and Ngubane in the matter, and I did indeed file a
Notice for Security as eluded to in the article.
“However, this is not an attempt to “hinder the legal process’. My clients are entitled
to request this security and the court will pronounce on this issue once it is clear the
security will not be put up by the liquidators. This security is to cover any adverse
cost order made against the liquidators by a competent court.
“On another note, the court has not determined that my clients did indeed strip the
mines of its assets (which is denied and hence the reason the application in terms of
section 424 is opposed). Whilst the liquidators do claim this to be the case, we look
forward to the day the court decides on this issue finally.’
