Johannesburg - The battle for control of the R1.8bn assets belonging to the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) is expected to take a fresh twist this week.
The group, led by Buhle Mthethwa, is turning to the courts to prevent a break-away faction headed by Lawrence Mavundla from using the chamber's resources, including evicting the Mavundla team from its Johannesburg head office, Nafcoc House.
This move is a consolidation of a small victory the Mthethwa team won on Friday after the North?Gauteng High Court granted an order which allowed them access to Nafcoc House and their files.
The Mavundla group last week booted out the democratically elected Mthethwa team, after signing a lease agreement with Nafcoc House landlord, Caresbee Investments.
Mthethwa's executive committee was on Friday preparing to file for an urgent court application to prevent the Mavundla camp from gaining access to the head office.
They also wanted an interdict to stop them from holding a much-publicised annual general meeting planned to take place from Thursday to Saturday.
Mthethwa's group also said they wanted to prevent Mavundla's group from using the Nafcoc logo.
Dropping the ball
As the fight rages on, Khethiwe Kubheka, a small business analyst, said it was disappointing that the Nafcoc leaders were involved in internal squabbles as ordinary members were caught in the crossfire.
"I think Nafcoc has lost the plot completely," said Kubheka. "The information I have tells me that there has been no service delivery from the time Buhle Mthethwa took over."
"Even for me, as someone who runs small businesses, Nafcoc services have been inaccessible. There are times when I tried to call for assistance but I got nothing."
Kubheka said whoever was in power needed to make a difference to small businesses within the next six months by lobbying the government.
The Mavundla camp did not take Mthethwa's high court victory lightly. After they got wind of the court order, they immediately recalled the three burly private security guards they hired to protect Nafcoc House.
When City Press Business arrived at the head office on Friday, a jubilant Mthethwa and her supporters had come with a locksmith and police officers to assist them in evicting the Mavundla faction.
But the eviction failed after it was pointed out that the court order only gave Mthethwa's group permission to occupy the building and access their files.
The rival camps operated from the same building on Friday.
Nafcoc deputy president Phindile Mpatha said the Mthethwa group would turn to the courts tomorrow or Tuesday to seek permission to give the Mavundla camp the boot.
"We are happy that we have access to the office and our documents, which we have taken away," said Mpatha. He said the documents, which included minutes of meetings, would assist them in formulating legal challenges.
Cold water
Churchill Mrasi, the vice-president of the Mavundla camp, tried to pour cold water on the Mthethwa victory.
"They are bringing the court order to the wrong place," said Mrasi, adding that the sheriff of the court had no right to evict the Mavundla camp as the respondent was Caresbee Investments.
Caresbee Investments is wholly owned by the Nafcoc Investment Trust and its sole director is Michael Leaf, the chief executive of Nafhold, Nafcoc's investment holding company.
- City Press