[miningmx.com] — ENVER Motala and Gavin Gainsford have been fired as liquidators of the Pamodzi Gold estate, which signals new hope for those who have called for Aurora Empowerment Systems to be unseated as managers of two of the Pamodzi mines.
According to trade union Solidarity, the department of justice dismissed the two liquidators this morning.
Now the trade union is demanding that Aurora, which is managing the Grootvlei and Orkney mines, “be fired as the managers”.
Aurora took over management of the two mines late in 2009 when it was named the preferred bidder for the assets by the liquidators.
The company, which is led by Khulubuse Zuma, a nephew of President Jacob Zuma, and Zondwa Mandela, a grandson of former president Nelson Mandela, is trying to secure the funding to pay for the mines.
“Solidarity is pleased that Enver Motala, who regarded himself as the chief liquidator of the Pamodzi mines, has been removed as liquidator by the department of justice this morning,” said Gideon du Plessis, Solidarity deputy general secretary.
The trade union said last week that it had served a liquidation application of R3.1m on Aurora in a bid to force the company to pay outstanding salaries.
Aurora now has until the end of this month to oppose the liquidation application or face a high court hearing early in June.
Solidarity also urgently requested the department of mineral resources and the department of water affairs to intervene on the environmental crisis facing the mines before the assets face “total collapse”.
The removal of the liquidators also comes on the back of news on Friday that an attempt by a father and a son to take their lives was testament to the social ruin caused by Aurora Empowerment Systems’ failure to pay outstanding salaries.
Solidarity said there had also been “several other suicide threats and even threats of family killings”.
