 |
|
|
|
|
| author/source:Sunday Mirror (Zimb) |
| published:Sun 12-Dec-2004 |
| posted on this site:Sun 12-Dec-2004 |
|
| Article Type : News |
|
| "Cunning methods to sway you" |
 |
|
click here to enlarge image
Staff Writers
The questions arise: where did the money that made the Tsholotsho Declaration possible come from? Who received money and what was the money for? Speaking in Matabeleland North last month, President Mugabe exploded: “There are mischievous individuals misleading people by using money from white capitalists. Their names will be revealed before the forthcoming congress. Their actions are meant to sideline the old leadership of the party through clandestine ways, divisive ways and cunning methods to sway you. Don’t be divided, don’t be purchased, we are not for purchase!” The identity of the mysterious but powerful “white capitalists” remains locked up in a crucible of speculation and allegations with no tangible and visible links tying any particular individual or group of individuals to the Tsholotsho Declaration. Apart from John Bredenkamp, there is another “white capitalist”, Billy Rautenbach, who has been speculatively linked to Zanu PF in the past. But both men profess to have no influence in Zimbabwean politics, although both their names have surfaced in past ‘dubious’ dealings involving the Zimbabwean eco-political and industrial-military superstructure and Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa and unnamed senior army personnel.
Bredenkamp has long since distanced himself from Mnangagwa and the other allegations. “Those are the kind of allegations that float around without any substance,” said Costa Pafitis, Bredenkamp’s consultant- cum- spokesperson. “You (The Sunday Mirror) had a lot of that culled from the wire in your profile but if John did anything illegal why was he not brought to book? Surely anything he has done must have been done above aboard. Your profile mentioned the proposal to bring in fuel into the country at the time of the fuel crisis but alleged that we had inflated prices. The truth of the matter is that we put in a tender and we were the cheapest. John actually put up a personal guarantee of US$ 12 million to come to the aid of government which was having foreign currency problems at the time,” added Pafitis. At the height of the accusations, Rautenbach denied the allegations, telling the foreign press: “I started mining in the Congo about a year before the war started. So all of a sudden, the war is there because of me. It’s unbelievable.”
Rautenbach, who also has substantial economic muscle in not only Zimbabwe, but in a number of African countries. He has been dogged by more, albeit largely unsubstantiated, controversy over the years notwithstanding an alleged involvement in the murder of Yong Koo Kwon, general manager of Daewoo and was reportedly on the list of the top 20 criminals in South Africa before he fled back to Zimbabwe after assets of his worth R60 million were seized on fraud charges. Again Rautenbach denied the charges believing that he had a raw deal: “As one of the officials told me: ‘At the wrong time, at the wrong place.’ Although his name cropped up alongside Rautenbach’s, Bredenkamp denies any links with him. “I have never met Billy. I knew his father. I am 65 and Billy is 42,” said Bredenkamp. Sources who know Billy Rautenbach attest to his overriding zeal to make money and when Bradenkamp was asked if this did not put him in the same league with the man he claims to have never met he said, “Of course I love making money, but I believe you have to do it with some decorum, some dignity.”
Rautenbach’s cobalt and copper mining ventures through Ridge Pointe in the DRC started after 1997 visit to Laurent Kabila (allegedly facilitated by a top Zimbabwean politician- name supplied). After managing to secure mining concessions he rose to become the Chief Executive of Gecamines - a state-owned mining company. Rautenbach was subsequently unceremoniously booted out of the country after some contractual disagreements. Investigations have revealed that Rautenbach’s entry into the lucrative DRC mining deals was engineered from Zimbabwe although Bredenkamp had initially been involved and put in all the initial financing but was allegedly ousted after a two- hour high profile meeting in the top echelons of Zimbabwean politics in which he was asked to give up his mining stake in the DRC failure of which would lead to dire consequences. Billy denied the charges that he had muscled his way into the Congo or that he had bribed officials and said at the time: “I started mining in the Congo about a year before the war started. So all of a sudden, the war is there because of me. It’s unbelievable...The perception is...that you just go around bribing people and you get whatever you want. It’s not like that.” Yet the whole DRC saga is clouded in mystery and a lot of perception rather than fact. Although it could not be substantiated and no tangible documents could be found, it is alleged that two high ranking Zimbabwean politicians (names supplied) are receiving monthly cutbacks of US30 000,00 each while a high ranking DRC minister is receiving US$20 000, 00.
back to top |
|
|
|
|
