Richards Bay Minerals wants court to stop unlawful payments to chiefs

Richards Bay Minerals wants the high court to remove amakhosi and their families as trustees and beneficiaries of four trusts to which it has thus far paid R500 million in dividends to stop “abuse” of the funding, intended for community development purposes.

RBM has also halted any further payments to the trusts until the court rules, as it believes that as much as 80% of the money has been spent on salaries, expenses and payments to unauthorised third parties.

This is after amakhosi from the Dube, Mkhwanazi, Sokhulu and Mbonambi traditional authorities pulled out of a process to reform the trusts — set up in 2009 as part of a land claim paid to the communities and a share in an empowerment deal for 24% of the company — to which they had agreed when paid out R77 million last August.