Political parties have welcomed the arrest of the directors of the Joburg-based engineering company NJM Treatment and NDE Services (NJM).
Mark Douglas Smith, Alexander Elias Roditis, Vanessa Chungu, Raymond Crozier, Guy Phillip Le Roux and Ronald James were charged with fraud on Thursday after handing themselves to the police.
They appeared before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on the same day, where they were granted bail of R20 000 each. They denied the charges and indicated they intend to plead not guilty.
They are expected back in court on November 29.
They allegedly submitted false information to Eskom and Sasol to secure tenders, leading to an estimated R400-million loss for both entities.
Political parties commended the arrests, especially investigating officer Lieutenant Colonel Jeremiah Jabulani Dlamini.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba welcomed the arrests.
“This case of these individuals in particular, caused almost irreparable damage to our economy, leading to the current unacceptable high levels of unemployment. We hope our courts factor this during their sentencing process,” said Mashaba.
EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said the NJM directors “actions have not only violated laws but have also exacerbated the crisis of corruption. The fraudulent submission of tenders and their misrepresentation under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act is an attack on the transformative goals of economic empowerment.”
ATM leader Vuyo Zungula said: “ATM firmly believes that crimes of this nature should carry hefty sentences.”
NJM’s woes stated when the company revealed in the Joburg High Court about a year ago that it misrepresented its BEE status in a bid to get an Eskom tender.
NJM former shareholders also worsened the entity’s problems when they complained about fronting involving its 26% shareholder Baleseng Zinyana and another 25% shareholder, Vanessa Chungu.
They alleged that in 2017, the NJM directors Mark Smith and Alex Roditis intended to sell shares equalling 25% to another black woman, Chungu, to enable the company to be 51% black-woman owned.
They said they were later informed that Chungu bought the shares but because she did not have the capital she would pay for them from dividends, which would leave her forever indebted while the company continued to benefit from a good BBBEE assessment scoring.
