Photo by: Duane Daws
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Friday vehemently denied allegations that it had been captured by the controversial Gupta family, and took strong exception to a journalist who interviewed one of its officials about the claim.
This comes after 24-hour TV news channel eNCA ran an exclusive in which NUM general secretary David Sipunzi admitted that his 2012 campaign for office had been funded by a Gupta mining company, Oakbay Resources, with R1.5 million in donations.
Sipunzi revealed to eNCA that his faction received funding from the Shiva Uranium mine.
But the union, in a strongly-worded statement, said it was “shocked and disgusted” by how the report turned out on the news, saying that Sipunzi had granted the news station an interview because he had nothing to hide.
“This is an appalling circus where a senior journalist from a reputable media house will run a sensitive story without meticulously investigated facts but only relying on one interview that he did with the NUM General Secretary David Sipunzi who was trying to set the record straight,” NUM said.
“This is a reckless story meant to damage the reputation of the NUM and its leaders. This is a serious investigative news story that is going to tarnish the image of the NUM and its leaders without meticulously investigated facts.”
The Guptas are heavily implicated in the Public Protector’s “State of Capture” report with regards to the appointment and dismissal of cabinet ministers and heads of state-owned companies in an alleged bid to benefit their businesses.
However, the NUM admitted to having benefited from R1.5 million sponsorship from Oakbay, saying that the money was to fund its Central Committee that was held in June this year.
“The money was paid directly to the service provider for accommodation. It was never paid to the NUM’s account. It is a normal process that every time when there is a congress or central committee, we fundraise and there is nothing wrong with that,” NUM said.
“There are other companies that were approached for sponsorship money to contribute towards the NUM central committee. The NUM is not captured by the Guptas and it will never be captured by anyone.”
The NUM said the story was done with great haste and without any concrete evidence, and refused to comment until the journalist and the channel provided them with “meticulously investigated facts” that the union had been captured by the Guptas.