BusinessLive reports that the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) of eight Gupta-owned companies have been elbowed out of managing Shiva Uranium following court action by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
Louis Klopper and Kurt Knoop resigned as BRPs in light of the opposition to their presence at Shiva by the state-owned investor. The IDC is owed R287.5m by the mine, which was placed in rescue along with seven other Gupta companies in coal mining and services. The IDC as a major creditor had felt that the asset was not being fully managed by the BRPs and the relationship between the parties had broken down. The eight companies have been at the heart of claims against the Gupta family. Thursday’s move has left the BRPs focusing on the other seven companies under their care. The rescue processes have been marked by a number of court battles, contempt of court charges, allegations and counter-allegations. One of the actions undertaken by the BRPs has been to order a stop to the mining contract between Optimum Colliery and Gupta-linked contract miner JIC Mining. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has objected to the loss of 480 contractor jobs at the mine, but Klopper said the practitioners could not justify paying JIC up to R50m a month when other creditors were waiting to be paid. Another victory has been overturning a Durban court block on Optimum’s coal exports through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal.
- Read this report by Allan Seccombe in full at BusinessLive
- Read too, Gupta-owned Shiva Uranium's business rescue practitioners throw in towel, at Fin24
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