South Africans are fraudster punch drunk.
They are being tricked at every turn.
They have barely recovered from Markus Jooste and his Steinhoff scam or Louis Liebenberg’s diamond circus hits them.
After Jooste and Liebenberg, the country is stunned when Anthony Bougas and his Kleuterzone are exposed as a probable pyramid scheme. He and his family did not accept responsibility, but fled the country.
And they are only three of the big fish.
Week after week we read about cunning fraudsters who cheat ordinary South Africans out of their hard-earned money.
But it is especially devastating when the wolf slips into the sports stadium.
One wonders to what more despicable level it can be lowered.
Arthur J Brown’s Fidentia invested R8.2 million in Boland rugby.
His house of cards collapsed dramatically, leaving the rugby union red-faced.
The pinnacle of unscrupulousness was the Mpumalanga marathon.
The marathon, promoted by organizer Caleb Lekhuleni, was marketed as the “richest” race on the South African marathon calendar.
But Lekhuleni and the Mpumalanga Marathon organizers face a class action from at least 15 runners who never received their prize money.
Athletics South Africa (ASA) has also reported the fiasco to World Athletics (WO).
Two world-class marathon runners will probably never see the R1m prize money that was promised to the winners of the controversial marathon.
After months of waiting Jobo Khatoane of the Maxed Elite Club in Lesotho and Tadu Nare from Ethiopia are still without their prize money.
Was one of the cyclists who took up promoter Wynand de Villiers’ tempting offer to enter for the Tour du Cap five-day cycle tour from Wellington in 2026.
Paid the R1 900, booked accommodation for almost R5 000 and underwent medical examinations to be fully prepared for the huge challenge.
Never doubted De Villiers.
After all, I’ve known him since he was a rugby writer at the Beeld newspaper.
After a training session on Thursday, my laptop announced with an email from De Villiers that the Boland 100 miler and Tour du Cap would no longer take place.
De Villiers National Cycling has been liquidated.
Contacted him immediately.
Wanted to know if he took my money and that of other cyclists, many from overseas, while he knew the races would not take place.
Wanted to know if the Montecasino and Emperors Palace races that I and thousands of other cyclists entered were still take place.
Did he catch cyclists with a limp by offering tempting packages when he knew their money was not going to be used for it?
Wanted to say: “Wynand, be a man and tell us the truth.”
Tell us the truth about the music concerts that were cancelled and for which you are now blaming the media and artists.
Do it for yourself, your family, artists and cyclists.
Paarl Post this week called De Villiers “a controversial businessman from Paarl”.
Paarl Post writes:
“On the Facebook page called “Steve Hofmeyr Ikoon Konsert,” which has since been removed, De Villiers placed the blame for this latest concert fiasco on what he described as “established power structures in the industry who are deliberately working to discredit any initiative they do not control.”
“He further alleged that some artists “demand excessive performance fees without any consideration for budgets,” and that “technical files and production assets have been unlawfully withheld to create dependency.” According to him, “last-minute ultimatums” have also been used to “exploit productions in their most vulnerable moments.”
The media, he says, “ensures that only selected voices are heard” and thereby protects “the interests of an elite.”
“There is a point where a person’s humanity becomes more important than a concert, and my family and I have reached that point. My name, my honor and my integrity are more important to me than anything else.”
Wynand, what about cyclists’ dreams?
Their sacrifice?
The costs they incurred?
What about their humanity?
The Western Cape High Court has granted a liquidation order against De Villiers’ company, De Villiers National Cycling (also known as Cool Concerts), after owing more than R2 million to production company Hit Factory.
