Darlington Majonga
Bloemfontein
FORMER president Nelson Mandela’s initiative to save thousands of South Africa’s ex-political prisoners from destitution is on the verge of collapse, the Free State Times can reveal.
The Ex-Political Prisoners Committee (EPPC), established in 1995 after Mandela led a reunion of South Africans who were jailed for anti-apartheid activities, has been debilitated by a lack of funding and internecine fights.
Only the KwaZulu-Natal wing of the EPPC is still running, with the rest of the provincial structures in limbo.
This was confirmed by Sibusiso Peter-Paul Ngwenya, a major player in the ex-political prisoners’ movement, in documents for an infringement case he has filed at the Bloemfontein High Court.
Ngwenya is the executive chairman of Makana Investment Corporation (MIC), founded in 1997 as the commercial vehicle of the Makana Trust which had been set up a year earlier to fundraise for the EPPC, then led by anti-apartheid hero Ahmed Kathrada.
In its formative years the trust, with the world-adored Mandela’s blessings, received millions of rands in donations which were meant to help integrate ex-political prisoners into a new, democratic South Africa by improving their educational, social, health and economic wellbeing.
To sustain its objectives, the Makana Trust then set up MIC in which it would have a 51 percent controlling stake.
Today MIC is a broad-based investment company with interests in broadcasting as well as a range of ventures spanning aviation, logistics and telecommunications.
The EPPC’s national conference in 1999 agreed that the organisation decentralise its operations by establishing provincial structures.
These provincial structures, it was agreed, would then start business ventures acting as MIC “subsidiaries” and in which MIC would have a 40 percent stake in return for financial support and mentoring.
Now Ngwenya has launched a legal battle to stop Free State businessman and ex-Robben Island inmate Ramakaudi Paul Ramakatsa – also known as Mpho Ramakatsa – and the provincial companies he contends were started under the EPPC ambit from using the name Makana.
The business ventures in question, also cited as respondents in the infringement case, are Makana Investment Free State (Pty) Ltd, Makana Women Construction (Pty) Ltd, Makana C&I Technologies (Pty) Ltd and Makana Infrastructure Developers (Pty) Ltd.
These companies were established in 2003, the same time that other provincial business entities such as Makana Investment KZN and Makana Investment Gauteng were established.
Ngwenya, in the court papers, however says the Free State companies no longer have anything to do with MIC because they were “closed down”.
“The operations of these commercial entities, including that of the second to fifth respondents, were all closed down due to a number of reasons, including the fact that there was a poor level of managing and that they did not submit business plans to the applicant for vetting,” he says.
Ngwenya, in his founding affidavit, contends that Ramakatsa has no “bona fide claim to the use and proprietorship of the Makana trademarks”.
“As is evident from the notice of motion, the applicant seeks that the respondents be interdicted and restrained from infringing the applicant’s registered trademarks by using the marks in the course of trade in relation to any of the goods or services the marks have been registered for,” he says.
MIC registered the Makana trademarks between 2006 and 2008.
Makana is the name of the first political prisoner, a Xhosa chief, to attempt to escape the notorious Robben Island jail in 1873.
He drowned while attempting to flee and ex-Robben Island inmates decided to honour him by naming their trust and investment vehicle after him.
In his responding affidavit, Ramakatsa says the companies had been established and used the Makana name and logo “with the assistance, consent and knowledge of the applicant, the trust and the EPPC”.
“Due to the fact that the provincial and national structures had the same object, being to generate income to benefit and support the ex-political prisoners and their dependants in South Africa, it was throughout agreed by the EPPC, as the founder of the Makana Trust being the main shareholder of the applicant, that the structures and its activities will all be identified by the name ‘Makana,’” he says.
“The business logo was also, since the establishment of all the national and provincial structures, used by all the structures, including the respondents.”
Ramakatsa says MIC forfeited its interests in the Free State businesses after allegedly failing to honour its “obligations” as agreed with the EPPC.
The case will be heard at the Bloemfontein High Court next Thursday.
It however turns out that there is more to the fight than just the Makana trademark.
Ex-political prisoners sympathetic to Ramakatsa believe the court case is a smokescreen for the real battle that has been tearing the EPPC apart.
It appears the problems for Ramakatsa started way back in 2006 when he, as the EPPC’s national deputy chairperson, and other provincial leaders of the organisation held an emergency meeting to oust Makana Trust chairman Tokyo Sexwale.
The meeting also demanded that the trust and MIC be accountable and explain why EPPC provincial structures were allegedly not “fully” benefiting from the investment company’s business interests.
David Moisi, who was the EPPC national chairman at that time, however distanced himself from the meeting which the organisation’s then secretary, Notty Ngcobo, also described as “illegal”.
A year later, Ramakatsa left his position as the EPPC national deputy chairperson after, according to Ngwenya’s affidavit, he “was found to have sexually harassed a female employee”.
Ramakatsa says the sexual harassment case was trumped up to “silence” him.
Since then, Ngwenya has apparently been trying to distance the Makana Trust, EPPC and MIC from the business ventures Ramakatsa spearheaded “for the benefit of ex-political prisoners” in the Free State.
In the meantime the EPPC’s structures elsewhere have also been disintegrating.
Of all the commercial entities established to take care of the EPPC provincial structures, only one – Makana Investment KZN – is doing well.
Incidentally, MIC boss Ngwenya comes from KZN.
“(MIC), currently, only permits Makana Investment KZN (Pty) Ltd to use the name Makana,” Ngwenya says in his affidavit for the infringement case against Ramakatsa.
“This is the only regional structure which has regular meetings with the applicants and Makana Investment KZN (Pty) Ltd has proper reporting structures, regular board meetings, regular financial and management reportings.
“It is important to note that Makana Investment KZN is managed by the applicant.”
Other provinces suspect Ngwenya has been channelling a large chunk of the MIC proceeds due to the EPPC to his home province.
This has left the EPPC tottering to its death, according to the organisation’s national deputy secretary Mpho Masemola.
“Since two years ago we have seen our provincial structures collapsing,” says Masemola, an ex-Robben Island inmate.
“We have been told many stories about the Makana Trust not having money for the EPPC’s activities and this is devastating.
“While we have been told there is no operational money for the EPPC look what’s happening in KZN . . .
“It’s only the KZN that’s fully functional because it’s supported by Peter-Paul because he comes from there.
“In the meantime comrades keep on dying as paupers because they can’t get help from their organisation.
“This is a joke and the mess has to be sorted out because we have people such as the president and deputy president as part of the movement.
“We were together at Robben Island.”
Masemola was apparently referring to President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe who were incarcerated at the infamous prison for their anti-apartheid activities.
Ngwenya could not be reached for comment.
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