Johannesburg - The leadership fight at the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) have taken a dramatic turn after the organisation's executive council decided to break up its investment holding arm, Nafhold.
The executive council is Nafcoc's highest decision-making body.
The decision to liquidate Nafhold will most likely vindicate the actions of Buhle Mthethwa, Nafcoc's former leader, who ironically was ousted late last year by the chamber's current crop of leadership for trying to do the same thing.
Nafhold has been the source of recent internal leadership squabbles that have threatened the existence of the country's largest chamber for small business.
Shares worth an estimated R1.8bn have been at the centre of Nafcoc's recent leadership battles.
Nafhold owns 25% of Tsogo Investment Holdings which controls the Southern Sun hotel chain and several casinos.
It also has shares in e.tv, ICT companies, and firms operating in the financial and manufacturing sectors. It also owns a number of properties.
But the decision to sell the Tsogo Investment Holdings shares will be the one that spells the end of Nafhold and a decade of internal battles over its assets.
Mthethwa's leadership wanted to liquidate Nafhold and dismiss CEO, Michael Leaf, and chairperson Jabu Hlongwane because the investment arm had failed to disburse shares to Nafcoc individual members and constituencies since 2003, despite a Nafcoc resolution to do so.
Leaf and HlongwaneDissolving Nafhold will make it easier for the Nafcoc leadership to access its funds as the key financial decision-making powers will now rest with its treasurer, Buti Letsoela.
However, questions remain whether Nafcoc will finally disburse the shares to the members or invest the money in programmes that will better the operations of its constituencies and individual members.
This week a source close to Nafcoc's sitting president, Lawrence Mavundla, said the only thing that had kept Nafhold in existence was the shares the investment arm held in Tsogo Investment Holdings.
"We are about to conclude the process to sell the Tsogo Sun shares and Nafhold will soon be history," said the source.
Mavundla refused to provide details this week.
"We have resolved that we should not make a media statement because the process to sell the Tsogo Investment Holdings shares is at a sensitive stage and we would not want to give our enemies ammunition to use against us," said Mavundla.
He added that the deal to sell the Tsogo Investment Holdings shares involved companies that were listed on the JSE and any publicity about the transaction might affect their share prices.
The source conceded that Mthethwa's leadership had legitimate grounds for wanting to expel Hlongwane and Leaf for failing to disburse the shares.
"Buhle's leadership was right to want to do away with Leaf and Hlongwane. But the problem is the manner in which they dealt with the situation," said the source.
The source was referring to a march organised by Mthethwa's leadership to the Nafhold offices in Sandton last year over the disbursing of the shares.
A faction headed by Mavundla used the march to pass a motion of no confidence against Mthethwa and expelled her leadership. The Mavundla group alleged that the march gave Nafcoc negative publicity.
Nafhold was established in 1994 and has been carrying the tab for Nafcoc programmes and its 17 constituencies.
This meant that whenever the leadership of Nafcoc wanted money to pay for rent, salaries, conferences and business trips, they had to approach Leaf and Hlongwane to get the funds.
The duo decided which programmes to fund and the leadership did not always agree with its decisions. For example, Leaf and Hlongwane were accused by Mthethwa of refusing to release funds to pay rent for Nafcoc's head office in Rivonia.
After Mavundla toppled Mthethwa, Nafhold started releasing payments for the costs and even bought 15 Toyota Hilux double cabs worth R5m last November for the new leadership.
A source within Nafcoc said Leaf and Hlongwane would no longer play a role within the organisation.
"We feel that they have been with the chamber for too long and they must go," said the source.
- City Press