Three former directors of Aurora Empowerment Systems were on Friday denied leave to appeal against the judgment in June which found them personally liable for all debts and liabilities owed by Aurora to the Pamodzi Group.
In June‚ the high court in Pretoria found that President Jacob Zuma’s nephew‚ Khulubuse Zuma‚ Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa Mandela and Thulani Ngubane acted recklessly in managing the mines from Pamodzi they had acquired between September and October 2009.
The liquidators of the Pamodzi Group’s mines‚ which had been placed under provisional liquidation‚ reached an agreement in 2009 to sell five East Rand mines and the Orkney mine in North West to the now insolvent Aurora for R550-million.
Aurora moved to the Orkney mine in September 2009 and to the Ekurhuleni mines in October 2009. However‚ Aurora was unable to get the funding to buy the mines and the mines were put in care and maintenance at the end of March 2010. About 5 000 workers lost their jobs and the mines were stripped of their infrastructure.
The liquidators obtained a high court order in June that Zuma‚ Mandela‚ Ngubane and Aurora managers Sulliman Bhana and Fazel Bhana were liable in their personal capacity for all the liabilities incurred by Aurora to Pamodzi mines.
On Friday‚ the court said there was no prospect that another court could come to a different conclusion.
The judgment means that‚ barring a petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal‚ liquidators can start recovering money from the directors and managers.
In its June judgment‚ the court found that the entire project to acquire the mines was a pipedream‚ with disastrous consequences for many individuals who depended on the fulfilment of the promises the directors had made without any prospect of being able to keep them.
Judge Eberhard Bertelsmann said in June the directors must have known from the first moment that they would wreak havoc in the miners’ lives through their actions‚ yet they pressed ahead.
He said the directors were neither honest in respect of the undertakings made in the bid documents to acquire the mines‚ nor did they act at any stage as prudent and reliable businessmen.
“Their disregard for the consequences of their actions‚ both in respect of the insolvent companies and in respect of the mines’ workforce‚ was indisputably reckless.”
He said the director did next to nothing to alleviate the plight of the miners or the continued decay of the mines‚ other than to attempt to find new funders‚ without success.
In refusing leave to appeal on Friday‚ Judge Bertelsmann said Aurora was insolvent from the beginning and the directors knew of this fact from the outset.
He also said none of the factual findings he made against them had been attacked as being incorrect when they applied for leave to appeal.
Aurora money may soon be recovered from former bosses
Three former directors of Aurora Empowerment Systems were on Friday denied leave to appeal against the judgment in June which found them personally liable for all debts and liabilities owed by Aurora to the Pamodzi Group.
In June‚ the high court in Pretoria found that President Jacob Zuma’s nephew‚ Khulubuse Zuma‚ Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa Mandela and Thulani Ngubane acted recklessly in managing the mines from Pamodzi they had acquired between September and October 2009.
The liquidators of the Pamodzi Group’s mines‚ which had been placed under provisional liquidation‚ reached an agreement in 2009 to sell five East Rand mines and the Orkney mine in North West to the now insolvent Aurora for R550-million.
Aurora moved to the Orkney mine in September 2009 and to the Ekurhuleni mines in October 2009. However‚ Aurora was unable to get the funding to buy the mines and the mines were put in care and maintenance at the end of March 2010. About 5 000 workers lost their jobs and the mines were stripped of their infrastructure.
The liquidators obtained a high court order in June that Zuma‚ Mandela‚ Ngubane and Aurora managers Sulliman Bhana and Fazel Bhana were liable in their personal capacity for all the liabilities incurred by Aurora to Pamodzi mines.
On Friday‚ the court said there was no prospect that another court could come to a different conclusion.
The judgment means that‚ barring a petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal‚ liquidators can start recovering money from the directors and managers.
In its June judgment‚ the court found that the entire project to acquire the mines was a pipedream‚ with disastrous consequences for many individuals who depended on the fulfilment of the promises the directors had made without any prospect of being able to keep them.
Judge Eberhard Bertelsmann said in June the directors must have known from the first moment that they would wreak havoc in the miners’ lives through their actions‚ yet they pressed ahead.
He said the directors were neither honest in respect of the undertakings made in the bid documents to acquire the mines‚ nor did they act at any stage as prudent and reliable businessmen.
“Their disregard for the consequences of their actions‚ both in respect of the insolvent companies and in respect of the mines’ workforce‚ was indisputably reckless.”
He said the director did next to nothing to alleviate the plight of the miners or the continued decay of the mines‚ other than to attempt to find new funders‚ without success.
In refusing leave to appeal on Friday‚ Judge Bertelsmann said Aurora was insolvent from the beginning and the directors knew of this fact from the outset.
He also said none of the factual findings he made against them had been attacked as being incorrect when they applied for leave to appeal.
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