Letter from Gideon du Plessis, deputy general secretary of Solidarity, to President Jacob Zuma November 4 2011:

President Jacob Zuma
The Presidency: Republic of South Africa
Union Buildings

Honourable President Zuma

Appointment of Mr Michael Hulley as legal adviser to the presidency

I write this letter on behalf of people who are unable to write, because they no longer have access to any resources. These people have joined the ranks of the poor and the unemployed thanks to greedy individuals. I write this letter to a president who has always stood up for workers and for the poor and the exploited. This letter is addressed to a president who made job creation his presidential theme.

I write to you in light of the disappointment and dismay that the appointment of Mr Michael Hulley as legal advisor to the presidency has caused the victims of the Aurora disaster. Mr Hulley's appointment sends out the message that those who enrich themselves and exploit workers are rewarded. The message, in short, is: Aurora workers, you are on your own. The message that rings out is that the presidency chooses the side of the exploiters.

Mr President as you are aware, Mr Hulley is a director of the controversial Aurora Empowerment Systems, a company that was placed in final liquidation by the High Court on 4 October 2011. Aurora was initially appointed in 2009 by the Pamodzi Gold joint provisional liquidators to manage the Pamodzi mining operation on their behalf. The end result was that mining assets were destroyed under the control of the Aurora directors, leading to the loss of 5 300 jobs.

As a consequence of the Aurora legacy, Mr Hulley and his fellow directors, Messrs Khulubuse Zuma, Zondwa Mandela and Thulani Ngubani, were summoned to testify in an insolvency inquiry in terms of sections 417 and 418 of the Companies Act before the Master of the Northern Gauteng High Court. The inquiry focuses on, among other things, the unlawful destruction of the mining asset; the disappearance of millions of rand generated through mining activity; the unauthorised selling of mining equipment; and the contravention of various laws and statutory regulations.

Should the directors be found guilty during the inquiry, a criminal investigation will ensue and each director may be held liable in his personal capacity for the destruction of the mining assets and non-compliance with legislation.

Solidarity reported these matters to the presidency in a letter dated 31 March 2010 (which is attached for ease of reference). Seeing that no action was taken by the presidency, the Aurora directors and their consultants merely continued on their path of destruction, disregarding the South African Constitution and prevailing legislation.

Another insolvency inquiry into the conduct of the Aurora directors will focus on the statutory deductions made from Aurora employees' salaries that Aurora failed to transfer to the relevant institutions. The inquiry will also deal with the outstanding salaries owed to ex-Aurora employees and the fact that the Aurora directors ignored two court orders regarding the payment of the outstanding wages.

A further investigation involving Mr Hulley is also underway. In this regard a company named Labat reported to the JSE that the Aurora directors may have been involved in financial irregularities to the value of R20 million while they were heading that company's affairs, when they attempted to reverse list the company on the JSE.

Solidarity, as a trade union, places a high premium on the welfare of workers. Since the presidency expressed a commitment to programmes to fight poverty and to create jobs, Solidarity fails to understand how Mr Hulley, a co-director of a company that destroyed 5 300 jobs and plunged thousands of workers and their dependants in extreme poverty, could be appointed by the presidency.

As a legal practitioner, Mr Hulley also seemingly failed to advise his fellow Aurora directors regarding their fiduciary duty to ensure their company complied with legislation and the Bill of Rights. It therefore did not come as a surprise that last week, the portfolio committee on mineral resources recommended that criminal charges be brought against all the Aurora directors, that includes Mr Hulley. As a result, Solidarity has appealed to the committee to support its demand for the immediate rescission of Hulley's appointment.

Consequently, Solidarity calls for the cancellation of Mr Hulley's contract as legal adviser to the presidency. As a constitutional state and a country that subscribes to the rule of law, South African citizens and taxpayers would like to see the presidency employing a legal adviser with a track record that shows respect for the country's legislation which is the cornerstone of our democracy.

Yours faithfully,

Gideon du Plessis

Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity

Issued by Solidarity, November 6 2011

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