A group of shareholders of global beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) South African black economic empowerment (BEE) vehicle SAB Zenzele Kabili are unhappy about their investment in the JSE-listed share.
The disgruntled group has now labelled their experience investing in the BEE scheme “a nightmare” and “a scam”.
“They scam us poor people in the name of black empowerment,” said one of the SAB Zenzele Kabili shareholders who spoke to Sunday World.
The shareholder introduced Sunday World to a group of about 250 people whom she said are also shareholders in the BEE scheme.
She said many of these shareholders, who run shebeens and taverns based around the country, have come together on social media to discuss their challenges with the BEE vehicle.
These shareholders have several grievances including:
- Poor or no communication by AB InBev
- Minimal dividends and accusations that the scheme has failed to deliver on promises to pay out dividends twice a year
- Losses from investing in the company’s shares
- Poor administration including failure to pay out money from share sales
- Allegations that AB InBev has failed to issue investors with share certificates
- Lack of clarity about the SAB Zenzele Kabili share price
- Poor liquidity in SAB Zenzele Kabili shares makes buying and selling them difficult
SAB Zenzele Kabili is the successor to SAB’s BEE scheme called SAB Zenzele, which launched in 2010 and ended in May 2021.
SAB Zenzele had more than 40 000 shareholders. AB InBev launched SAB Zenzele Kabili in May 2021 and listed it on the JSE.
Joseph Ngwatle used to own a shebeen in Burgersfort near the border between the Mpumalanga and Limpopo, and that led him to invest in SAB Zenzele in 2010.
He also put money into the SAB Zenzele Kabili in 2021.
“SAB Zenzele Kabili made a lot of promises that they never fulfilled. [Former SAB Zenzele] chair Penuell Maduna promised that by August 2021, we would get a special dividend and dividends twice yearly, but in 2021 we got nothing,” Ngwatle said.
The 2022 SAB Zenzele Kabili annual report shows that the company paid out a dividend of R5.7-million during the financial year that ended in December 2022, or a dividend of 14 cents a share.
However, in SAB Zenzele Kabili’s 2021 financial year, no dividends were paid out.
The SAB corporate spokesperson who chose to remain anonymous said the SAB Zenzele Kabili declared a net dividend of almost R27-million in May 2022 and anticipated declaring another dividend in May 2023.
“They used to communicate with us, but there is no communication. There is a lot of confusion, and as a result we are unhappy,” Ngwatle said.
Thembelihle Radebe said she owns a tavern in Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal but works in Gqeberha in Eastern Cape.
She could not say how many SAB Zenzele Kabili shares she holds, but explained that they were worth about R25 000.
When the SAB Zenezele wound up, Radebe decided to reinvest in SAB Zenzele Kabili, which was disappointing, she said, noting that AB InBev has failed to communicate with shareholders.
She told Sunday World that she invested in the original SAB Zenezele scheme, which proved a good investment that paid out dividends.
“There is no communication, and you must hold on for ages on the call centre and still no one answers,” said Radebe.
The SAB corporate spokesperson said the SAB Zenzele Kabili used SMS communication to reach its shareholders.
“Retail and SAB employee shareholders are encouraged to update their SMS contact details, postal address, status, and banking details by calling the call centre on 0861 900 903 between 08:00 and 17:00, Mondays to Fridays,” the spokesperson said.
“Agents will log their call and take them through the process and documentation needed to effect such changes.”
Sunday World called the 0861 900 903 number this week and a call centre agent answered in less than 20 seconds.
The agent said the call centre, which the JSE Investor Services runs, receives many calls from SAB Zenzele Kabili shareholders every day. However, he said the wait time at the call centre could vary greatly depending on the corporate actions of numerous companies the call centre services.
The SAB spokesperson said: “Public shareholders are encouraged to update their details by calling Computershare on 011 370 5000 or e-mailing web.queries@computershare.co.za.
“Shareholders are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the information published by visiting https://www.sabzenzelekabili.co.za.”
Sunday World phoned the Computershare number and a receptionist told us that for SAB Zenzele Kabili shareholders, the number is 0861 100 937.
Next, Sunday World phoned that Computershare number, and the wait time was much longer than the JSE Investor Services number. Finally, a call centre agent answered our call after just over nine minutes.
“SAB Zenzele Kabili has been a disappointment,” another shareholder told Sunday World.
Agreed another shareholder, who said: “With SAB Zenezele Kabili, I am throwing my money down the drain.”
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