|
MMG
MMG
MMG - Statement by the executive chairman of MICROmega Holdings Limited
MICROmega HOLDINGS LIMITED
(Registration number 1998/003821/06)
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
ISIN code: ZAE000034435 Share code: MMG
("MICROmega" or "the Company")
STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF MICROMEGA HOLDINGS LIMITED
In response to enquiries made by a number of MICROmega shareholders following
upon yesterday`s announcement of the appointment of Dave King as Executive
Chairman of MICROmega, the board of MICROmega believe it is appropriate that
Mr King furnish to MICROmega shareholders an explanation for his acceptance of
the position as Executive Chairman of MICROmega. Mr King`s statement follows.
"There has been significant media interest in gaining clarity on my decision
to accept the appointment of Executive Chairman of MICROmega Holdings Limited
("MMG"). This interest is predominantly aimed at gaining greater insight into
how my as yet unresolved legal matters might affect MMG and its shareholders
going forward.
There were two main reasons for my resignation from the board of MMG 8 years
ago. I needed time to devote to my legal matters and I wished to distance MMG
from my difficulties.
With the passage of time I was able to engage with SARS to the point that we
signed a settlement agreement in 2009 in which the Commissioner agreed to a
full rebate of penalties. The Income Tax Act precludes settling on a zero
penalty basis if the Commissioner believed that he had not received full and
frank disclosure or if he believed that my actions constituted fraud. It is
therefore clear that SARS` viewpoint has changed substantially since 2002.
The position with the exchange control authorities is similar. I reached
agreement with SARB after which they sent a letter to the NPA withdrawing
further interest in pursuing criminal allegations.
The agreements with SARS and SARB were necessary partly because both state
agencies had precluded me from applying for amnesty at the time that this was
available.
The agreements with SARS and SARB were ultimately unable to be implemented
through no fault of myself, SARS or SARB. This resulted in the litigation
continuing to an advanced stage whereby the tax disputes are likely to be
finalised by the tax courts in the reasonably foreseeable future and this
greatly reduces the need for either the state or myself to settle solely as a
matter of convenience.
The position with the NPA is more uncertain. Having been brought into my
matter by SARS and SARB the NPA is rightly concerned that the public profile
that it has maintained in my matter is now compromised by the settlement
agreements. This appears to have resulted in the NPA attempting to improve its
position by repeating a similar approach to a few years ago when progress in
my matter stalled. At that time the NPA added charges in relation to the
awarding of a contract by Umgeni Water. After generating much publicity
around this matter the NPA withdrew all charges when the matter eventually
went before the court.
The NPA has now repeated this process by introducing new allegations. None of
this was new to me however what was new was that I was provided with witness
statements that were made by individuals many years ago and that without
exception accord with my version of events. I consequently view the new
allegations in the same light as the Umgeni debacle.
I consequently found myself in the latter half of 2010 in a more composed
frame of mind regarding the litigation and the outcome thereof. I had enough
time to devote to normal business affairs and involved myself in new
opportunities that I introduced to MMG. After further consideration and
discussion I eventually agreed to rejoin MMG and to devote my time to the
growth of the Group. I am comfortable that this is the right decision for
myself and for the shareholders of MMG."
18 January 2011
Date: 18/01/2011 16:35:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the
JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or
implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or
completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers,
employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature,
howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
| Profile Group (Pty) Ltd. has taken care in preparing all information on this website, but does not accept any liability for errors or out-of-date information. | |||||||||||||
| Other Profile Group sites: FundsData Online (unit trust data) | Profile Group corporate site | |||||||||||||
| [ Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | PAIA manual | FAQs/Help | Site Map | © Copyright Reserved 2026 ] | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
