Roux Shabangu’s building auctioned

MBABANE – Troubled businessman, Roux Shaba-ngu, whose business interests in Swaziland are stalled, had one of his buildings in South Africa auctioned for R66 million yesterday.

According to South African media reports, Shabangu’s Sanlam Middestad building was bought by Nedbank.
Fin24 reported that bidding opened at R65m and Nedbank’s Head of Corporate Properties Martin Phillip submitted the winning R66m bid.
All seats in the auction room were occupied and many potential bidders were standing at the back as an auctioneer read out a lengthy list of terms and conditions.

It is said the building went under the hammer after the 39-year-old Shabangu failed to keep up with payments on a R320m bond Nedbank granted him in January 2011.
“Shabangu put the value of the building at R850m. He bought it for R220m and registered it in his company’s name, Roux Property Fund, in January 2011,” Fin24 reported.

This is the same building that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found to have been unlawfully leased to the South African Police (SAP) Service.
The lease was eventually cancelled and former SA Police Commissioner Bheki Cele was fired for his involvement in the illegal agreement.
According to the Sunday Independent, the Sanlam Middestad building had been empty ever since the lease was cancelled.

In Swaziland, Shabangu had his licence for operating the Dvokolwako Diamond Mine cancelled after continued delays in having it reopened.
Reports are that His Majesty King Mswati III ordered the licence to be cancelled.

Besides the diamond mine, Shabangu’s plans to construct a hotel, shopping mall and residential flats in Mbabane are also at a standstill.
The project was planned to be built at the premises where the Mbabane City Council, Mbabane Market and Linear Park are situated.
It emerged that Shabangu was not going to purchase the land but had promised to build the City Council new offices at the Coronation Park – one of Swaziland’s largest leisure parks.

The new offices were reportedly to cost around E50 million.
This angered ratepayers who said the amount to acquire the land was too meagre and that the park was an essential landmark as it also has a wetland.
To date, no information has been made public on what the position of the project is.

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