| Thu 15 Mar 2012, 17:01 | | SKJ - Sekunjalo Investments Limited - SENS Sekunjalo response to Media |
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SKJ
SKJ
SKJ - Sekunjalo Investments Limited - SENS Sekunjalo response to Media
reports - Sekunjalo is vindicated
Sekunjalo Investments Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
Registration number 1996/006093/06
Share code: SKJ
ISIN: ZAE000017893
("Sekunjalo" or "the Company")
SENS Sekunjalo response to Media reports - Sekunjalo is vindicated
Dear STAKEHOLDER,
Sekunjalo is vindicated as Smit Internationale N.V.`s subsidiary in South
Africa, Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd is charged with corruption by the
Government.
Today, Sekunjalo Investments Ltd welcomed the announcements by Government`s
department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as reported in the
business newspapers that they have charged Smit Internationale`s South
African Subsidiary, Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd with corruption.
Sekunjalo understands from the media announcement and its own sources that
the National Prosecuting Authority has been asked to investigate Smit
Internationale, Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd, as well as the BEE partners
of Smit Internationale N.V. , Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd is the South
African subsidiary of the Dutch multinational, Smit Internationale N.V., and
was the losing bidder in a marine engineering bidding process in which
Sekunjalo Marine Consortium was the successful bidder.
Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd used technical arguments to contest their lost
bid. Sekunjalo as per the SENS Announcements dated 24 February 2012 and 6
March 2012 asked the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF)
to withdraw the contract and its status as a preferred bidder and to reissue
the tender as per our SENS Announcement.
Despite this, Sekunjalo has been subjected to a coordinated, concentrated
and slanderous media campaign designed to damage the company`s reputation
and to force the Department to extend the contract of the losing bidder by a
further 6 to 9 months after it has been extended without an open tender
process for the last 7 years. Sekunjalo has always maintained that it is
the innocent party in the conflict between DAFF and the losing bidder Smit
Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd and now feels vindicated that these corruption
charges have been brought against Smit Amandla Marine and we trust that it
will extend to include Smit Internationale N.V., its partners and any
Government officials that were involved in extending the contract of
approximately R1billion over 7 years in 2005 without an open tender process.
Sekunjalo, hopes that government will extend the investigation into Smit
Internationale N.V. to include Smit Amandla Marine contracts with other
Government and parastatal entities as well.
Furthermore, Sekunjalo expects Government to investigate serious allegations
against Smit Amandla of having overcharged DAFF for providing goods and
services over their 12 year duration of the contract. According to repost,
Smit Internationale was the shareholder of the entity contracted with
Government since April 2000. Sekunjalo asked that Smit Internationale N.V.
be investigated by the prosecuting authorities.
Sekunjalo has also been at the receiving end of a deliberate campaign by Mr
Pieter van Dalen, Democratic Alliance MP in Parliament who has at times
acted almost as a spokesperson for Smit Amandla Marine. Mr van Dalen`s
motives need to be questioned. Sekunjalo notes that Mr van Dalen has now
remained silent on the fact that Smit Amandla Marine have been charged with
corruption. Mr van Dalen should disclose if competitors of Sekunjalo have
made donations to the Democratic Alliance and if this has influenced his
attitude. It is our view that Mr van Dalen will in an act of desperation try
and create imaginary issues since he has remained silent on the corruption
charge of Smit Amandla.
Mr van Dalen of the Democratic Alliance must stop using black companies as
cannon fodder to score cheap political points. If Mr van Dalen`s fight is
with the ANC he should have the courage to fight the ANC and not drag in
Sekunjalo into this fight. We are a respected South African business and we
demand that our rights as corporate citizens contributing to our country
through job creation, empowerment, skills development, and corporate social
investment be respected.
Sekunjalo has been a victim as a black company of this media campaign with
biased reporting, selective quotes and a deliberate distortion of
Sekunjalo`s position on this contact all along. Sekunjalo now hopes that
those reporters that have ignored and disregarded our SENS Announcements
will now have the integrity and objective to fully report on the corruption
charge against Smit Internationale N.V.`s subsidiary in South Africa, Smit
Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd.
Cape Town
15 March 2012
Sponsor
PSG Capital
Date: 15/03/2012 17:01:01 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
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