Gangster State

According to a written reply from Shell to my inquiries, they were told
that the FDC wanted to sell the site to ‘progress black female land
ownership in the Free State’. When Shell entered the negotiations, the
FDC indicated that it was considering selling the property to an entity
called the MMAT Trust. Thoko Malembe happens to be the sole trustee
of the MMAT Trust, which she registered at the Bloemfontein master’s
office in 2016. Shell, who told me it had no idea Magashule’s daughter
was behind the MMAT Trust, supported the deal. ‘It is in line with our
transformation agenda to progress black female business ownership,’
the company said.
According to deeds office records, the FDC sold the property to the
MMAT Trust in April 2016. But it was not a straightforward
transaction. Instead of having to put up her own money or secure a
bank loan, Thoko effectively scored the property for free while
simultaneously pocketing R 8. 9 million. A notarial lease agreement filed
at the deeds office explains how it worked: Shell agreed to pay the
MMAT Trust R 11. 5 million as an ‘upfront rental’ to lease the site for
fifteen years. ‘On receipt of the upfront rental CDH [Cliffe Dekker
Hofmeyr, the notary attorneys for the lease deal] shall issue a guarantee
of R 2 600 000. 00 in favour of ... the attorneys attending to the
registration of the transfer of the property into the name of the Lessor
[MMAT Trust],’ stated the lease agreement. ‘The guarantee will be
made payable on the simultaneous registration of the transfer of the
Property into the name of the Lessor and this Lease.’ The agreement
also stipulated that ‘the balance of the upfront rental will be paid to the
Lessor on Registration’. In other words, when the property was finally
registered to the MMAT Trust in early 2017 , Shell effectively gave
Thoko the money to buy the property from the FDC, plus an R 8. 9 -