HOW EX-MINISTER GOT INVOLVED IN ABATTOIR BUSINESS

mfanukhona@times.co.sz

MBABANE –At business infancy stage, former Minister Phiwayinkhosi Mendi Mcambi Mabuza was approached by Blue Diamond for advice and assistance in finding investors to operationalise the Mbabane Abattoir.
This reportedly happened after the directors of the company had found it difficult to source the capital from local banks.

Investigations revealed that the company at that moment, was at sixes and sevens trying to put the abattoir in operation.
Already, sources say, Blue Diamond Trading had signed a three-year contract with the Municipal Council of Mbabane at a monthly rental fee of E5 000.
Makhosemphi Dlamini, one of the ex-directors of Blue Diamond, explained that it took them almost a year to run the business.

After signing the contract, he said the city council wanted to see the business taking shape with immediate effect. He said they sent their proposals to almost all banks, but most of the financial institutions viewed the abattoir as a non-viable business; except Wesbank which assisted them with a small loan to build a cold room.

Dlamini said it was at this time that they approached Mabuza to help them find an investor who could provide capital.
“I had not met Mabuza (Phiwayinkhosi) before. He was known by one of my colleagues who encouraged us to give it a try and talk to the then minister,” he said.
Eventually, he said they met Mabuza to ask for advice and direction, as they had no money to run the business. Another factor which contributed to their resolve to meet the former housing minister was that they regarded him as a businessman, especially in the construction industry and that the abattoir had been lying idle for a long time, he said.

At their meeting with the ex-minister, he further explained that the ex-minister did not have a person in mind except his colleague in Cabinet, Jabulani Mabuza, the proprietor of Buy Cash Hardware who was the then Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade.

Jabulani is currently the Minister of Agriculture.
The ex-director of Blue Diamond said the current minister of agriculture preferred to avail the capital as a loan, and requested that he be part of the directorship to protect and monitor his investment.

money running up to E1 million

He said it was a lot of money running up to E1 million, which the minister pumped into the business.
“I can only say Mabuza (referring to Phiwayinkhosi)’s involvement in the abattoir was when he introduced us to Buy Cash (referring to Jabulani Mabuza) to ask for the capital. At the time we were considering cancelling the contract with the Municipal Council of Mbabane because we didn’t have money to run the business,” he said.

Asked if Phiwayinkhosi did not contribute any money to the capital fund, he said there was no financial contribution from him.
Further asked why he resigned from the company, he mentioned that the business experienced serious financial problems that required him and other directors to recapitalise the business.
At the present moment, Dlamini said he was not even aware that Phiwayinkhosi was working at the abattoir, and did not know in which capacity he was engaged.

He insisted that the ex-minister was not a director during when he (Dlamini) co-owned Blue Diamond Trading.
He said he resigned against his will, as he wanted to cling to his shareholding. “Initially, at business conceptualisation, I didn’t have cash but I became a shareholder because of sweat. I sweated for this business at conceptualisation stage, putting everything in order,” he explained.

Is he complaining? He responded that he was not complaining, but expressing his affection for the abattoir business. He said he would never complain because he did not have the E75 000 that was required to recapitalise the business.
“I had five-percent shareholding, and my contribution to the recapitalisation programme would have been small,” he said.

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