President’s former lawyer testifies behind closed doors on mismanagement of mines
AN INQUIRY by the Master’s Office into Aurora Empowerment Systems’ management of the Grootvlei and Orkney gold mines began behind closed doors yesterday, raising fears that potentially embarrassing information involving connected individuals may be kept from the public.
The hearing also appears to have been quietly brought forward, further frustrating media attempts to attend.
Yesterday, President Jacob Zuma ’s former lawyer and a director of Aurora, Michael Hulley, gave evidence in camera
Despite attempts by trade union Solidarity to gain access, Mr Hulley was allowed to give his evidence behind closed doors.
The union has brought an application to have Aurora liquidated as part of its claim for R3,1m in wages that were not paid to workers at the two mines while they were managed by Aurora.
The company — which also has Zondwa Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, and Khulubuse Zuma, President Zuma’s nephew, as directors — is accused of plundering the assets of the mines. Khulubuse Zuma pledged R1m to the African National Congress for its May election campaign.
The inquiry in the Master’s Office in Pretoria was convened in terms of the Companies Act. Mr Mandela, Mr Zuma and Aurora director Thulani Ngubane are also expected to testify.
The commissioner of the inquiry, Wayne Gibbs, said yesterday it was being held in camera and there would no public access to directors’ testimony. He refused to divulge how many days had been set aside. "We are looking for dates, I can’t say more because it is sensitive," Mr Gibbs said.
Solidarity had been hoping to discover the extent of the personal assets of Aurora directors .
"We believe the public has a right to know what went on," deputy general secretary Gideon du Plessis said yesterday.
In testimony last month, Mr d u Plessis claimed Aurora’ s intention was never to buy the mines, "it was simply to plunder it".
M-Net’s current affairs programme Carte Blanche had applied on July 18 for the testimony of the Aurora directors to be heard in public, on the grounds that it was dealing with matters of "manifest public interest".
M-Net’s attorney, Dario Milo, said he was "very surprised" to hear that Aurora’s directors gave evidence yesterday. He had filed an urgent application for the evidence to be in public, but the matter was set down for August 16 to allow the directors to oppose the action, Mr Milo said. He had been told the directors would be called to give evidence at the inquiry from August 22.
