Last weekend I was reminded about a turn of events that happened in 2008 that I have tried to forget, but keeps popping up from time to time as it was such a weird scenario. This was so out there and so tempting, but my morals got the better of me and often wonder what if. If I had chosen differently where would I be now?
Let me explain the scenario and give you the back ground as I know many would not have hesitated and gone full in yet I headed looking for the nearest exit. This is all true and not something you could just make up and why it still gets me thinking to this day.
In 2005 I had a retail outlet in Durban located in a large shopping center so you tend to bump into people you know regularly. One of those people was an ex work colleague who I thought I knew well, but actually found out I had no idea.
When I joined this company in 1991 we had sales representatives that covered the various regions of the province of Natal and being white I stayed in the white areas and this chap being black did the rural areas. This was how things worked back then so we only saw each other a couple of times per month. I will call him Peter which is not his real name for this post was well educated and had been raised by a white family. Back then the only black kids who attended white schools were diplomat kids or those who were connected.
I had done my military service in SA which was compulsory for whites up until 1993/4. I am not sure exactly when that stopped as I was still being called up to camps each year which varied between 30 and 60 days. Employers were ordered to release on full pay you as this was your duty serving the country. So whilst I was employed I would often turn up in army uniform and had no idea Peter was in fact the enemy.
Peter in 2008 told me he was indeed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) which translates to the spear of the nation and was the terrorist army fighting the apartheid struggle for the ANC. That blew me away as I told him I had no idea and being 2008 meant nothing as there was no fighting happening since the ANC took over in 1994.
We always got on and we chatted for a while when he asked me to come over and visit his home which was nearby where I lived as he was having a gathering of some important people. He knew from our chat I had been importing various things which included cats eyes (road markers that reflect light) and other miscellaneous items. I had been looking for various business ideas and why I was importing all different things which obviously triggered my invite to this meeting.
The meeting was far bigger than I had expected as cars were parked right down the road and this house was just an average house so it was over flowing with people. I had no idea they were all there for me as I had no idea what this meeting/gathering was about.
They explained that Jacob Zuma was expected to win the national elections which would then result in many new ministers being appointed of which these were their friends. The mention of state tenders then became the topic and what items could I then get for them? They had no idea how to go about this process and these people would be the face of the tender with me pulling the strings of procurement.
Jacob Zuma had 34 cabinet ministers and I know 3 of these listed above mentioned in our gathering that day. This was one year out from this all becoming real so these people really knew their stuff.
The part that made no sense was when they discussed supplying the prisons with toilet paper as my argument was why the manufacturer would not just supply directly. They would be more expensive not knowing this is exactly how these BEE tenders worked and was never about price but corruption. Supplying petrol to the government departments was another hot topic they wanted to investigate and they wanted me to do the behind the scenes work on their behalf whilst looking after me in the process.
Peter was obviously highly thought of in the ANC set up being an active member of their military during the apartheid years. I had no idea he had so much influence and these days wondered where he ended up and what became of him. Peter would have known many of the ministers personally as some he called close friends.
This sounds strange because it is strange and made no logic to myself yet I fully understand how this all works today and this is how SA works. The people they mentioned by name did become ministers and can clearly see how this would have worked and it was not a group being hopeful they were guaranteed business deals they had been told to set up by those incoming ministers.
The idea of doing something illegal or being part of terrified me so much so I switched off and wanted no part of this. Would I have done things differently if I had known better with what I know now and I am not 100% sure I would have walked away. Here is an opportunity to legally steal and you are not directly involved, but you are involved is a tough one knowing others will do this without even thinking on the morals of right or wrong.
This was before the Gupta family stole the country blind so what was being discussed in this meeting was small scale compared to the state capture that followed. This was before President Zuma even took office and was the early planning stages of getting ready and I had witnessed this is what blows my mind. Not only had I witnessed this I had been asked to help with the planning and strategy of what items to target.
What would you do if you had been asked to help facilitate this as I still do not know if I would have stayed and joined or left as I did back in 2008. Jacob Zuma won the elections and came into power in 2009 so this was guaranteed kickbacks for everyone at the gathering and the only one who did not know that was myself.