Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Khulubuse Zuma owes R1.4bn
TIME might be running out for the former director of Aurora Empowerment Systems, Khulubuse Zuma, who is known for his Champagne lifestyle.
This week, Zuma, who is second cousin to former president Jacob Zuma, was provisionally sequestrated in the Durban High Court after he failed to comply with a repayment agreement with liquidators.
In 2009, Zuma and other Aurora directors – Solly and Fazel Bhana, Thulani Ngubane and Zondwa Mandela, the late Nelson Mandela’s grandson – bought two Pamodzi mines, but failed to maintain them.
Workers weren’t paid, and the operations fell into disrepair. In 2010, the company was put into liquidation and the operations closed.
Yesterday, trade union Solidarity welcomed the court’s decision.
“Justice will finally prevail for the 5 300 Aurora employees who lost their jobs. The Pamodzi mines were placed under supervision by liquidators in 2009-2010 and Aurora did not pay the employees salaries for eight months,” said Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis.
Aurora was liquidated in 2010 and the Pretoria High Court found the Aurora directors guilty in their personal capacity in June 2015.
Zuma still owes R13 million, which is outstanding from a repayment agreement with the liquidators in 2016.
Du Plessis said Zuma was not likely to come up with that amount by the next court date, March 4.
Aside from the agreement, Zuma is liable for R1.4 billion. If he doesn’t pay on time, the final sequestration order will be issued.
Du Plessis said Zuma’s business interests from September 2009, when he was appointed director of Aurora, until the sequestration order may now be investigated.
“Hopefully this investigation will reveal what happened to the R170m that disappeared from the mines and what Zuma’s business interests in Africa were. It will also determine whether he has interests in Dubai.”
Zuma allegedly has oil interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The sequestration application for Zondwa Mandela will be heard next month. Sequestration applications for Fazel and Solly Bhana are being finalised.