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Meat king Jabulani “Mjay” Nzama, who owns one of the most popular shisa nyamas in South Africa auctioned his luxurious Rolls-Royce Phantom and Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE 63, worth at least R8 million, to pay his hefty debt.
This week the owner of Eyadini Lounge in Umlazi, Durban, admitted to City Press that he owed the SA Revenue Service (Sars) millions, but insisted he had made arrangements with Sars to reduce his debt by paying monthly instalments.
He declined to disclose how much he owed the taxman.
“Obviously selling my cars would help me pay my debts, including the money I owe to Sars. But my vision of selling these cars is big as I want to venture into other businesses, which I will disclose when the time is right.”
Sars spokesperson Sandile Memela refused to comment yesterday, saying this was a personal matter between Sars and a taxpayer.
“In terms of the confidentiality clause, section 69 of the Tax Administration Act 2011, we are not allowed to share or divulge confidential information about taxpayers’ affairs. This would include investigations into taxpayers and traders,” Memela said.
This week rumours were doing the rounds that Sars raided Nzama’s house to repossess luxurious cars after he defaulted on his monthly instalment.
However, yesterday Nzama sought to clear the air.
“This is fake news. My cars were not repossessed. I volunteered to put my cars on auction because I realised that they were not bringing in money, yet I was paying a fortune every month.
“This has nothing to do with owing Sars. If anyone would like to bid for these two cars, they can do so freely,” Nzama said.
He told City Press that this was a smear campaign as other business owners were jealous and sabotaging his business, which had been in existence for almost seven years.
“The competition is tough in this business. I am the only one whose Instagram account has managed to reach 500K followers. I am aware that not everyone is going to be happy for me and the success of my business.”
Eyadini Lounge is one of the prime entertainment hubs in the country, famous for hosting big events such as the Metro FM annual event and Heatwave. It has hosted businesspeople and politicians, such as President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile.
Nzama’s tax consultant and lawyer Mandla Mngomezulu said that it was not a secret that his client owed Sars.
“My client had surrendered and volunteered by himself to put his cars on auction. This has nothing to do with Sars. He still has his other assets and a fleet of cars with him,” he said, adding that Nzama had a good relationship with Sars because of the monthly arrangements he had agreed to in July.
Nzama also disputed claims that his outlet was going to close down because he was operating without a health certificate.
“There is nothing like that; it isimpossible to run an outlet like this one without having the requirements or permit. My enemies want to see me and my business go down; it is not going to happen,” Nzama said.
Keith Green from Park Village Auctions confirmed he had auctioned the cars on Nzama’s behalf.
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