Defending Sekunjalo accounts closure means defending job losses
RECENTLY the Human Rights Commission announced that they would investigate why certain areas in KwaZulu-Natal, specifically oThongathi, still had no water after 24 days.
This is very public spirited of them as provision of water is a basic right of citizens. The provision of water is not only essential for sustaining life but it also impacts the residents in terms of their dignity.
At the same time, we have a situation where a greater injustice and worse hardships are suffered and that is the racist collusion of the big five banks in South Africa to close the bank accounts of Sekunjalo. We have here a large number of people, more than 40 000, who are directly affected by this gross injustice. When banks close accounts it is normally in terms of legislation which requires them to prevent fraud, money laundering etc. Banks are obligated in terms of the law to know their customer.
No company can operate when their accounts are closed or frozen. Your company cannot pay workers, you cannot pay suppliers, effectively the bank has closed down your company for all practical purposes. This has been the dirty little secret capitalist banks kept under wraps.
In the normal course of events, for banks to close or freeze accounts due to suspicious activity, which they also have to report to the Fica centre, is commendable, but what makes it so horrible in the case of Sekunjalo is that there was clear collusion against the person of Dr Iqbal Survé as chairman of the group of companies. His sin? He dared to upset the apple cart and used his company to implement Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, not the BEE restricted to certain high-profile politicians or ministers. Crude unadulterated capitalism by its very nature must have a large base of economically destitute people.
Any black business leader is welcomed into the club of captains of industry as long as you toe the line, ie, the capitalist line. Dr Survé, whose Struggle credentials are impeccable, although this is another area where the enemies like to cast doubt in the public mind, has dared to cross the line in pursuit of the natural progress of political freedom and that is economic freedom or economic justice.
Out of the nearly 60 million people in South Africa currently, about 25 million are over 15 and of that group only about 9.6 million are employed. Although under Article 15 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights: “Every individual shall have the right to work under equitable and satisfactory conditions and shall receive equal pay for equal work.”
It is clear that Sekunjalo has recourse to the African Charter of the AU as the workers of Sekunjalo are being discriminated against through no fault of their own, their rights are currently violated as they are unable to get paid due to the racist collusion of the top five banks. They are not working under satisfactory conditions, and you cannot give your best if you know your company cannot pay you. If the banks are preventing your company paying you, you are not able to receive equal pay for equal work.
To create jobs, the government relies solely on major companies like Sekunjalo, especially in the field of black youth employment, where more than 50% of youth are unemployed. Sekunjalo cannot make a positive contribution to creating more job opportunities if they are not able to pay workers, thus the group is stymied from growing in order to alleviate black unemployment. Sekunjalo makes no secret that they will give priority in terms of government legislative dictates to suitably qualified black workers.
The selfish aim of the big five banks is to ensure that Sekunjalo goes under. The consequences are just too dire to contemplate as a country like South Africa needs economic growth, which can only occur if there is employment with consequent job creation.
Currently the direct result of the banks’ cowardly and insensitive, racist withholding of banking services to Sekunjalo has resulted in workers and their families, a conservative total of 40 000 citizens, suffering. Currently these workers are not able to provide for their families, some of them are being hounded for not paying their car hire purchase agreements, their housing loans, insurance premiums, rent, not being able to buy food etc.
South Africa has two thirds of its population being urbanised, resulting in huge informal housing camps, or as the racists call them, squatter camps. Municipalities can depend largely on the huge amounts of municipal rates large companies pay. Should a company like Sekunjalo fold, it will cause huge hardships to the local municipalities where their companies are registered. The City of Cape Town, for example, will suffer a huge loss of revenue if Sekunjalo goes under, the social cost will impact on so many areas of the programmes they run.
Yet these same banks who are in racist collusion to stop Sekunjalo bank accounts did not have one inkling of fraud and money laundering at Steinhoff and not one account of Markus Jooste was frozen at any time. Is it because he is white? Is “White Right”? In banking circles it appears so. We will wait when their smallanyana skeletons come out of the closet as surely they are sowing the wind and will reap a terrible whirlwind. There were many banks in SA that have disappeared. The same banks with their brilliant financial monitoring systems never noticed that Steinhoff lost R300 billion over nine months, but Sekunjalo has their accounts closed at great personal cost to the workers because of reputational damage? They could not produce any rational arguments. Is it because of a racist vindictive vendetta to undermine Dr Survé, who dared to upset the apple cart of cosy crass capitalism?