Durban - The Qwabe Enkwenkwezini royal house and Qwabe community took their fight to Tongaat Hulett’s doors, demanding the immediate removal of independent trustees from the Makhosi Khosi Communal Trust after accusing them of corruption.
On Tuesday the chairperson of the Qwabe Enkwenkwezini royal family, Scelo Gumede, said the appointment of the current trustees in 2017 by the government was illegal, and charged that the community was not involved in the process.
“They were illegally appointed as they were not appointed by the community as stipulated by the trust deed. Their mandate was given for five months to help with, among other things, facilitation of appointment of new trustees, producing audited financial statements, and updating the beneficiary list. Their mandate was up to December 2017.
“They have not completed their six-month mandate after four years. Instead, they have grabbed hold of the trust and its assets, and have not reported to the community on anything as required by the trust deed. They are deciding what happens to the assets of the trust (farms, sugarcane, bank accounts) without any consent from the community as required by the trust deed,” he said.
Gumede accused one of the trustees of conducting business with Gledhow and Hulett and regarded this as a conflict of interest. He said the protest was aimed at stopping all trust operations until everything relating to the trust was handed over to the community.
Furthermore, Gumede said they require the company and the trust to disclose and report on all transactions undertaken.
The community and the royal house also demanded from the trustees all lease agreements on all farms that belong to Makhosi Khosi, as the community had had no sight of the lease agreement documents on their land.
“We demand an independent audit of the finances and assets of Makhosi Khosi Trust, which include the audit of production of sugar cane since the land was returned.”
Other demands directed to Hulett and Gledhow are that the company stop taking and processing sugar cane from the Makhosi Khosi Communal Trust or anyone who, through lease agreements, supplied sugar cane to Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow until they were satisfied with the legality of the dealings.
“Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow must produce to the community a record of all sugar cane that they have received from the Makhosi Khosi Communal Trust or any party that leased with the trust, and that they participate in audits and investigations of all transactions that they engaged in with the trust.”
Tongaat Hulett corporate affairs executive Nkonzo Mhlongo confirmed that all operations were halted and they had met with the representatives of the protest.
“We take their demands seriously and this is why all parties have agreed to convene a meeting (Wednesday) to consider all the issues that were raised. We’ll be meeting with all stakeholders including the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development because it’s the department that is responsible for the appointment of the trustees. “However, we must stress that the disruption of operations is not sustainable and has a negative impact on the company,” said Mhlongo.
Justice Department spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said they had received the concerns of the royal house and would review their records to check the process that was used in appointing the trustees.
“We are going to investigate the facts around the issues so we can determine what needs to be done,” said Phiri.
Daily News