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A North West businessman and ANC funder is sitting with a R170 million bond after promises made before the 2009 election – that the provincial government would lease five buildings from him – came to naught.
Wandile Bozwana is aggrieved after a struggle to get the provincial government to rent space in his multimillion-rand office complex, and he believes he has been “sabotaged” by senior politicians.
Bozwana said he was struggling to service the enormous loan he took to build the offices because he had not been making any money out of the properties.
They have become white elephants five years after completion.
Now he fears his businesses may be liquidated if he does not start making money from the vacant office space.
The eight-block complex, with two office wings each, is in North West’s capital, Mahikeng.
Bozwana is part of a group of North West businessmen who had hoped to gain financially after they gave money towards the ANC election campaign.
But doors are now shut every time they try to secure deals with government.
Bozwana is going to court to demand payment for a lease agreement his company, TEB Properties, has with the North West department of social development.
The department apparently reneged on an agreement to occupy a block of offices owned by Bozwana’s company after a three-year R44.8 million contract was awarded.
“They still have the keys to the building. As far as I am concerned, they are the occupants and I continue to send invoices of R1.1 million every month in rental fees,” Bozwana said.
He also accepted an offer by the provincial public works department to purchase his entire office block for R320 million in April last year, he said, but nothing had happened since then.
He’s keen to sell the buildings, as they have turned into a financial burden.
City Press has seen both the offer-to-purchase letter from the public works department and another from the social development department confirming the rental agreement with his company.
Bozwana said getting money owed to him from government had also been a struggle.
He was recently forced to attach R30 million worth of assets, including more than 50 vehicles belonging to public works, in a legal battle to get the department to pay him for work done at Brits Hospital.
He said he was paid only after he seized state property.
Aggrieved businessmen, who were organised into a group by Bozwana, recently caused a commotion in Mahikeng, bringing traffic to a standstill. They accuse North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo of enriching himself, interfering in government procurement and influencing the awarding of tenders to those close to him.
Bozwana believes he is a victim of a “deliberate act” by leading government and provincial politicians to blacklist some businessmen.
He accuses Mahumapelo of being “greedy and ... out to enrich himself while taking away business from us”.
“Ever since he assumed power he’s been trying to suffocate me. I really do not know what I did to him that I can’t be forgiven,” Bozwana said.
Mahumapelo’s office declined to comment on the allegations.
“The office of the premier has in the past week provided sufficient rebuttal to the media regarding allegations levelled against government and its leadership. Our considered view is that both the premier and the government are unfairly expected to prove that allegations levelled against [them] are not true, when in fact the burden of proof should lie with those who make allegations,” said Mahumapelo’s spokesperson, Sam Mokaila.
Public works spokesperson George Madoda confirmed there was an offer to purchase Bozwana’s building but said the transaction was never finalised.
“[Bozwana] made a counterproposal seeking that he be paid R320 million, excluding VAT.”
Madoda said there were discussions and an agreement was reached between Bozwana’s company and the department’s officials, but nothing was ever put in writing.
“There were never signatures to seal the deal,” said Madoda.
