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‘No such thing’ – Ezulweni denies being promised tenders by ANC after R102m settlement
The details of the settlement agreement between the ANC and Ezulweni will not be disclosed.
General views of the African National Congress (ANC) Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg. Picture: Michel Bega
Ezulweni Investments has dismissed allegations suggesting that the company has been assured future tenders as part of a resolution to the debt dispute with the African National Congress (ANC).
The ANC reached an out-of-court settlement with Ezulweni last December, ending a four-year legal dispute between the two parties over a debt for services rendered during the 2019 election campaign.
The governing party had owed Ezulweni more than R102 million, including interest.
ActionSA has, however, questioned how the ANC will pay its debt to Ezulweni.
‘Reasonable, rational concern’
Last week, ActionSA called on the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to investigate the settlement using the Party Funding Act in its probe.
The party has alleged that there is a “link” between Ezulweni and state contracts which shows the “reasonable fear that South Africans may find themselves paying for this settlement”.
“The revelation of this connection to state contracts has been revealed in a tender awarded by the Newcastle Local Municipality to Gladmod Transport and Shories Project 47, which lists Mr Renash Ramdas as its sole director according to the Companies And Intellectual Property Commission.
“This is the same Ramesh Ramdas who is listed as the CEO of Ezulweni Investments in the court papers against the ANC and who is believed to be married to the sole director of Ezulweni Investments, Ms Ashnee Ramdas,” ActionSA party chairperson Michael Beaumont said in statement.
ALSO READ: ANC says Ezulweni debt settled as it charges up to R500,000 for seat at gala dinner
According to a court judgment, the election posters contract between Ezulweni and ANC was concluded with Gladmod, which is a close corporation of which Ramdas has been listed as a member.
ANC says Ezulweni debt was settled as it charged up to R500,000 for seat at gala dinner.
Furthermore, Beaumont said the R200,000 tender was issued days before the local government elections in 2021.
“Of further interest is that this tender was awarded in October 2021 [at] a time in which the ANC’s debt would have been accruing legal costs and interest for nearly three years.
“It follows that the nature of the debt settlement agreement between the ANC and Ezulweni Investments represents a reasonable and rational concern that part or whole of the debt may be paid through future business conducted between the state and the Ramdas family,” Beaumont said.
Beaumont pointed out that the liquidation process revealed the ANC had less than R60 000 in all its bank accounts and failed to pay salaries for the most part of last year.
“There can be no question that the sudden announcement of a solution, coupled with an extravagant January 8 statement in Mbombela, raises some serious questions about where these funds are coming from,” the ActionSA leader said.
Additionally, Beaumont said ActionSA was awaiting confirmation from the ANC treasurer-general, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, on whether she will implement President Cyril Ramaphosa’s offer to avail the settlement agreement documents “in the interests of transparency”.
‘No such thing’
Meanwhile, Ezulweni Investments has denied ActionSA’s claims, saying the allegations were false.
“There’s no such thing which the ANC has agreed to give Ezulweni any tenders,” the company’s spokesperson, Peter Fernando told The Citizen.
Fernando labelled ActionSA as “a bunch of racists”.
“That’s a message from Mr Ramdas. They are a racist organisation and they can keep their racist remarks to themselves. Before they talk about things, they must Google and get the facts properly,” he said.
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The Ezulweni spokesperson said as a company, they were free to conduct business with anyone including municipalities.
“You have got the freedom to work with anybody. [ActionSA] are talking about some tender work that was done with Newcastle Municipality [but] we are an events company and we do work with all sorts of municipalities.
“We are not sitting and waiting for the ANC to give us a job. Municipalities are not only run by the ANC, they are run by different political parties. Some are run by IFP [Inkatha Freedom Party], some are run by DA [Democratic Alliance], and some are run by coalitions. So we if have an opportunity we work,” Fernando continued.
Settlement agreement ‘confidential’
Fernando further said the details of the settlement agreement would not be disclosed.
“The two parties agreed that they will keep whatever the agreement is confidential, however, I can guarantee there was no negotiations where the ANC said they are going to give any type of tenders.
“That is out of the question and I can challenge anybody to bring the evidence to say the ANC has [promised] us tenders. These people are talking nonsense. They are talking about tenders from 2021.”
He also highlighted that Ezulweni would have not initiated legal proceedings if the company was “in bed with the ANC from then”.
READ MORE: ActionSA demands answers on Ezulweni R102m settlement
“We were fighting a war with the ANC then so these people got the wrong side of the story. From our side, we know who is behind this whole thing.
“We know the people in ActionSA and they must be careful to make false allegations against us because we fear f*kol [slang for nothing]. If they have an issue, they must open a court case… we are ready for anyone. We had the courage to take the ruling party on,” Ezulweni spokesperson added.
On whether there was a possibility of litigation for defamation, Fernando said: “If they put false allegations against us, we will sue them definitely and I don’t think they will even have money to pay for it.”
The ANC hasn’t responded to a request for comment on ActionSA’s allegations.
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