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SKJ - Sekunjalo Investments Limited - SENS Sekunjalo response to Media

Release Date: 15/03/2012 17:01
Code(s): SKJ
Wrap Text

SKJ - Sekunjalo Investments Limited - SENS Sekunjalo response to Media reports - Sekunjalo is vindicated Sekunjalo Investments Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) Registration number 1996/006093/06 Share code: SKJ ISIN: ZAE000017893 ("Sekunjalo" or "the Company") SENS Sekunjalo response to Media reports - Sekunjalo is vindicated Dear STAKEHOLDER, Sekunjalo is vindicated as Smit Internationale N.V.`s subsidiary in South Africa, Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd is charged with corruption by the Government. Today, Sekunjalo Investments Ltd welcomed the announcements by Government`s department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as reported in the business newspapers that they have charged Smit Internationale`s South African Subsidiary, Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd with corruption. Sekunjalo understands from the media announcement and its own sources that the National Prosecuting Authority has been asked to investigate Smit Internationale, Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd, as well as the BEE partners of Smit Internationale N.V. , Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd is the South African subsidiary of the Dutch multinational, Smit Internationale N.V., and was the losing bidder in a marine engineering bidding process in which Sekunjalo Marine Consortium was the successful bidder. Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd used technical arguments to contest their lost bid. Sekunjalo as per the SENS Announcements dated 24 February 2012 and 6 March 2012 asked the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to withdraw the contract and its status as a preferred bidder and to reissue the tender as per our SENS Announcement. Despite this, Sekunjalo has been subjected to a coordinated, concentrated and slanderous media campaign designed to damage the company`s reputation and to force the Department to extend the contract of the losing bidder by a further 6 to 9 months after it has been extended without an open tender process for the last 7 years. Sekunjalo has always maintained that it is the innocent party in the conflict between DAFF and the losing bidder Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd and now feels vindicated that these corruption charges have been brought against Smit Amandla Marine and we trust that it will extend to include Smit Internationale N.V., its partners and any Government officials that were involved in extending the contract of approximately R1billion over 7 years in 2005 without an open tender process. Sekunjalo, hopes that government will extend the investigation into Smit Internationale N.V. to include Smit Amandla Marine contracts with other Government and parastatal entities as well. Furthermore, Sekunjalo expects Government to investigate serious allegations against Smit Amandla of having overcharged DAFF for providing goods and services over their 12 year duration of the contract. According to repost, Smit Internationale was the shareholder of the entity contracted with Government since April 2000. Sekunjalo asked that Smit Internationale N.V. be investigated by the prosecuting authorities. Sekunjalo has also been at the receiving end of a deliberate campaign by Mr Pieter van Dalen, Democratic Alliance MP in Parliament who has at times acted almost as a spokesperson for Smit Amandla Marine. Mr van Dalen`s motives need to be questioned. Sekunjalo notes that Mr van Dalen has now remained silent on the fact that Smit Amandla Marine have been charged with corruption. Mr van Dalen should disclose if competitors of Sekunjalo have made donations to the Democratic Alliance and if this has influenced his attitude. It is our view that Mr van Dalen will in an act of desperation try and create imaginary issues since he has remained silent on the corruption charge of Smit Amandla. Mr van Dalen of the Democratic Alliance must stop using black companies as cannon fodder to score cheap political points. If Mr van Dalen`s fight is with the ANC he should have the courage to fight the ANC and not drag in Sekunjalo into this fight. We are a respected South African business and we demand that our rights as corporate citizens contributing to our country through job creation, empowerment, skills development, and corporate social investment be respected. Sekunjalo has been a victim as a black company of this media campaign with biased reporting, selective quotes and a deliberate distortion of Sekunjalo`s position on this contact all along. Sekunjalo now hopes that those reporters that have ignored and disregarded our SENS Announcements will now have the integrity and objective to fully report on the corruption charge against Smit Internationale N.V.`s subsidiary in South Africa, Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd. Cape Town 15 March 2012 Sponsor PSG Capital Date: 15/03/2012 17:01:01 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on, information disseminated through SENS.

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