Wheels coming off million rand empowerment deal

The wheels of a R53 million empowerment deal involving the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), department of trade and industry, and Zastrovect Investments (Pty) Ltd in which the Goseame group of companies was purchased, are seemingly coming off.

This emerged after, according to two sources close to the matter, the Polokwane Sheriff of the Court acting on a court order, changed the stores’ locks to prevent one of the shareholders from gaining access last week.

The sources said an inventory of assets had to be made and handed over to the remaining shareholders together with the company.

Apparently the shareholder involved had not abided by the contract he entered into with the other shareholders, and as a result, the remaining shareholders had dissolved his association with the business.

The allegedly “expelled” shareholder was unreachable and could not be found anywhere. Personnel at the store told Review that their boss had been “suspended”.

Employees said they were not allowed to speak to anyone regarding the matter and advised Review to “give it a few weeks”.

The members of staff as well as other stakeholders declined to provide Review with his contact number.

Speaking on behalf of Goseame’s former owners, who are still involved in the business in a limited capacity, attorney Corrie Nel said in a press statement that Goseame Open market, Goseame Meat Market, and Goseame Flower Market had been sold to Zastrovect, a black empowerment concern, in the course of last year.

“The purchaser, Zastrovect Investments (Pty) Ltd, is funded by the National Empowerment Fund.

The transaction is structured in such a way that the Goseame partners (previous owners) are still involved in the businesses in a limited capacity until the final payment and handover (which) is due to take place in the next few weeks,” according to the press statement.

The press statement continues: “The National Empowerment Fund and the Goseame partners are actively involved in safeguarding the integrity of the businesses.

Steps are taken to ensure that it is ‘business as usual’ at Goseame.

“Goseame still offers the same high quality products from the same suppliers at excellent prices and will be open during its normal trading hours”.

The NEF declined to divulge any information regarding the contract or the current situation, citing “contractual confidentiality” as the reason.

Speaking on behalf of the NEF, Emmanuel Mohlamme said the NEF followed several steps before a deal was declared a good deal, and a division of the NEF saw to it that investors were assisted to run a sustainable business and pay back their loans.

He said if it was found that matters were not going well, the NEF would assist in turning around the business and “hopefully see skills implemented”.

The NEF uses tax money to fund black entrepreneurs and loans to fund black business ventures to transform South Africa’s economic landscape through loans ranging from R250 000 to R75 million.

The fund was capitalised in 2005 by R2 billion through the transfer of inter alia equity stakes of various state-owned enterprises, privatised or partly privatised in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is classified as a Schedule 3 A entity, which must be funded with government transfers.

According to the NEF’s 2013 annual statements as published on the Internet, Zastrovect’s loan “receivable before impairment” was R53 282 633.