Durban - Billionaire and former South Africa resident Mark Shuttleworth has come under fire from SACP general-secretary Blade Nzimande for “sponsoring a campaign to topple the country’s economy”.
This was in response to Shuttleworth’s announcement that he was setting aside R250-million to assist those who wanted to take court action against the state.
The Supreme Court of Appeal earlier this month ruled that the South African Reserve Bank reimburse Shuttleworth to the tune of R250m. The amount came from an exit levy the state bank had charged the IT entrepreneur when he took money out of the country and moved to the Isle of Man.
After he won the case, Shuttleworth said he was putting the money into a trust for people who wanted to take the state to court to defend their constitutional rights.
Addressing thousands of SACP and ANC supporters at the Red October rally in Hammarsdale yesterday, Nzimande said Shuttleworth’s actions would collapse the economy.
“This is an act of hostility, which I think we must take up as part of our financial sector campaign,” said Nzimande.
He said Shuttleworth’s money would help people who wanted to take their money and emigrate to other countries.
“Shuttleworth seeks to achieve the exact opposite of what we want to achieve through our Financial Sector Campaign. We must view this as a declaration of an act of hostility by him.
“We want to say to Mark Shuttleworth that ‘you may be a billionaire, but our people are more important than your billions’,” he said.
Nzimande said the Red October Campaign would target financial institutions for refusing to provide finance options for the poor. He said the party would campaign for workers to start their own bank. The government should consider starting a state bank, he said.
The Mercury