Cape Town - The trustees of the Alexkor Development Foundation (ADF) and Namaqua Development Agency (Namda) are in hot water for failing to explain their operations and financial statements dating back to 2007.
ADF is meant to receive 30 percent after profit from the state-owned mine Alexkor, which should be used to improve the lives of the poor people of the Namaqua community in the Northern Cape.
In dramatic fashion earlier on Friday, some of the trustees initially refused to account to MPs in the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources, alleging that they were being unfairly interrogated and would only speak in the presence of their lawyers.
They told the MPs that if they wanted answers, they should submit their questions in writing. However, they later cooled down and cooperated.
Namda chairman Lukus van Rooi and board member Joshua Losper caused a stir in the house as they strongly refused to answer oral questions on finances.
"I want to speak in the presence of my lawyer. I don't know about our investments...there is no money in the bank," Van Rooi said.
Committee chairman Fred Gona told the delegation that if they lied to the house, they would each be held accountable. He warned them that this was a serious matter involving public funds and they should account to Parliament.
The trustees, who had initially appeared before the committee on 26 October, were told to come back with their chief financial officers and chief executives.
Following questioning by MPs, it emerged that two trusts were bankrupt and owed millions in diamond mining royalties and loans to communities.
According to the trustees, ADF was supposed to be dissolved but was still running because diamond producer Alexkor mine still owed them in excess of R38 million in royalties.
The trustees said ADF's purpose was to receive money from the mine and deliver it to Namda in order to benefit the Namaqua community in the form of loans, school bursaries and infrastructure development, among others.
They said Namda was formed through R10 million funding from the Namaqua Diamond Fund.
They indicated that a new company, Namda Pty, had also been formed in order to benefit from the South African Micro-Finance Apex Fund (Samaf), whose purpose was also to benefit the community.
It also remained unclear whether the trustees had been trained and knew their responsibilities to both the community they were supposed to serve and their accountability to Parliament.
The delegation told the committee that they had not acquired personal properties as a result of their involvement in the trust.
However, ADF chairperson and her counterpart in Namda Pty, Ellen Delie, revealed to the committee that they both had taken legitimate loans worth R10 000 each from Namda Pty and would pay back.
The committee resolved to invite back the trustees, who should be accompanied by the chief accounting officers and Alexkor Mine in January next year. -
