Collusion by banks of worst kind

GENERAL Shazli, a famous Egyptian, once said: “Accidents don’t just happen, they are caused”. If one has read the newspapers over the last few weeks, one can clearly detect a concerted and sustained effort to vilify and character-assassinate the Sekunjalo Group of Companies and Dr Iqbal Survé respectively.

This is not by accident, but by a deliberate ploy to undermine the dignity and character of Dr Survé and, by association, the companies he directs.

One would have thought that by now Dr Survé would have been cowed into submission but, being the principled man he is, having overcome many obstacles, he is today a self-made man – a man who could go out and sustain himself. He is not beholden to any person or party for his daily sustenance and survival. In our capitalist world, that is a dangerous notion.

A few years ago Mittal, an Indian metal company, wanted to buy a French metal company and, internationally, there was a huge outcry. CNN ran an article pointing out that there are hundreds of French companies owned by Italian, German, British, Dutch, etc companies, so why the hue and cry when an Indian metal giant wants to buy a French company?

Ridiculous as it sounds, it boiled down to raw unashamed racism – how dare a black-owned Indian company seek to buy a white European company?

As we know now, among European and American metal companies, there is capitalist collusion to push up the price of stainless steel etc, to keep it artificially high to maximise profits for the owners.

Likewise, in South Africa, not ONE national large company was owned by any black person until the coming of a democratic South Africa. Dr Survé, due to his faith, always believed that there is no point in political freedom when the black workers are not financially or economically free too.

Capitalism, by its very nature, needs to have the majority in dire poverty so that a few can enjoy the benefits of capitalism.

This immediately caused Dr Survé to become a target to those who needed the status quo to remain as agreed to at the Kempton Park negotiations – South Africa will have not have a capitalist economy neither a socialist economy but a mixed economy (read capitalist).

Dr Survé immediately set about to ensure that the wealth of this country gets to be distributed and enjoyed by even the lowest ranking worker, through black empowerment – where poor black workers can pluck the fruits of their labour and not die in abject poverty, as was the case in all the years since Van Riebeeck landed here.

Dr Survé persisted in living out his faith in seeking financial or economic justice for all; he knows from his faith that there can be no peace without justice. As long as there is no economic justice there will be no peace.

This was a dangerous notion he taught black workers. In a time of capitalist deceit speaking the truth sets you up to be a target of those who see such talk as anticapitalist, as anti–establishment (an establishment based on pure, unadulterated capitalism).

The first attack was to undermine the character of Dr Survé. He was mocked and his integrity questioned in sustained attacks in the media. They thought he will capitulate but, being the morally strong person that he is, he thrived amidst this onslaught, as his faith carried him through.

When this did not help he became the target of a book reviling him for daring to take over the Cape Times, so that it no longer becomes a mouthpiece for capitalism. Sad but true, most people’s opinions are formed by reading the newspapers. Dr Survé, as an intelligent, critical-thinking man, knows this and, as part of his uplifting people, he knew getting control of some media is in the interest of the oppressed, so that they may be subject to more fair news reporting.

We remember how the ANC and Mandela were called terrorists by the Western capitalist media, and guerrilla fighters by more friendly media.

Dr Survé knew that, having survived so many attempts to close down his project in real broad-based black empowerment (BBBE), the tact and vitriol of the attack will change.

He thus made sure that, in running his companies, everything must be done above board, as he will be under the loupe at all times. Dr Survé has ensured, in many talks and as policy, that there must be transparency and openness in his companies when dealing with any government or NGO authorities.

Executive and board members can recall how Dr Survé has exhorted personally, and as policy in his company, that all reporting must be done in the public interest – financial statements and public statements to that effect must be done in a manner that any ordinary member or shareholder can understand, without running to Dr Google to try to comprehend what is being said. We remember the days when Mbeki spoke – even the journalists had to reach for the dictionaries. Not so with Dr Survé in his dealings with the public.

He has personally overseen that the company profile on the internet is clear and contains all the relevant information, so that any member of the public – especially the opposing journalists – can see the future direction in terms of future profitability and return on investments the company will take.

From the company website it is clear that Dr Survé has a belief that full public disclosure is in the interest of all and, thus, no one can harbour the belief that the company has something to hide. This policy, as insignificant it may seem, has contributed to the share price of Sekunjalo companies increasing in value.

Dr Survé has believed that providing all relevant information to those who have an interest in it is not enough, and his workers and subordinates can bear him out that he has instilled a culture of accountability in his companies having learnt, firsthand, as an apartheid victim, how a culture of impunity under apartheid led to death squads and places like Vlakplaas under FW de Klerk, a man with the blood of many innocent people on his hands, but who was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

In the face of the animosity from certain sectors of society, who would not want Dr Survé to succeed, he also ensured that he personally vouched for the chain of communication from every executive and board member when it comes to reporting to the public and relevant state authorities, regarding the financial management of the company. This is unheard of in any other company, I daresay.

Dr Survé also has ensured that investors are able to understand the company financial information, by ensuring that data is easy to digest without complicated analysis. He always maintains that investors must be data savvy, so they need to be informed how to interpret the data the company provides.

It is no use if your company gives information to your investors who cannot make head or tail of it. Not many companies can lay claim to such practices and objectives as Dr Survé and his company has.

When all else fails, go for the jugular – nothing the enemies of Dr Survé did could even slow him down, never mind arrest his forward progress in the interest of real BBBE. Going for the jugular is what they did by stopping his banking accounts.

Now under SA law a bank can do that without even doing you the courtesy of providing a reason why they stopped your account.

Banks can legally close or freeze your account if there have been breaches of the Fica act where money laundering is suspected eg if you transfer large sums and the invoices are suspect and do not match what it is supposed to be paying or any other discrepancies which banks are under law to report.

In Sekunjalo’s case, it was done out of pure spite and malice, after a long campaign to destroy Dr Survé personally, as well as the companies he uses to effect real BBBE. The enemies thought that, by now, Dr Survé would be so browbeaten that he will throw in the towel and creep into his corner to hide, but this is a principled man who survived apartheid – so they decided to spite him by freezing or closing his bank accounts.

The fact that all five major banks did it attests to a collusion of the worst nefarious means. The impact of this is that the workers cannot be paid, and they cannot pay their debts such as rent, car payments, and they do not even have money to pay for the daily necessities of life, such as food or transport.

This is deliberately done to put pressure on one man through the use of collective punishment. Collective punishment is illegal in terms of international law yet, when it comes to banks, the law seems to remain silent? What kind of selective morality is that? Is that some form of twisted capitalist morality?

About 8 500 workers are now suffering and one must take into account that some workers support up to five members or more in their families. This closing or freezing of the accounts led to untold suffering, a form of collective punishment which the world seems to ignore, but the plight of those workers impacted by this injustice is real.

It is urgent that the government needs to address the legislation currently existing to close this loophole, being used by banks, to impose a reign of economic terrorism on innocent people. It seems the “economic hitmen” of the banks have done their job to undermine a supremo of real BBBE.

Many years ago, Nixon told his henchmen to make the Chilean economy scream and they did exactly to Chile what they are doing to the Sekunjalo Group of Companies – they are indeed making them scream.

The progressive forces need to embrace virtual banks more in the future and government needs to ensure legislation to prevent collective punishment of innocent workers, and their thousands of dependants – some of whom are helpless babies crying out for baby formula.

An economic injustice anywhere is an economic injustice everywhere.