By Dot Blake
THERE is no doubt there is an agenda against Sekunjalo Investment Holdings (SIH) and its founder, Dr Iqbal Survé, as the Daily Maverick once again launches a salvo against the company in an unprovoked, factually incorrect and blatantly defamatory piece it pushed through its channels on Tuesday May 24.
Survé, currently attending the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, took to Twitter to denounce the propaganda tactics, citing “neo-nazi media” who were “gangsters” and “up to disinformation tricks”.
Survé also called into question, the timing of the latest Daily Maverick piece, which out of the blue, dragged up a story from 2020 to do with the Eastern Cape Department of Education and State Information technology Agency’s (Sita) ongoing legal battle over a tender awarded to Sizwe Africa IT Group in July 2019 – not 2020 as has been reported by other media.
The Daily Maverick insists on dragging Survé’s name (and image) into their stories, despite there being zero involvement from the global industrialist in either Sizwe Africa IT Group or AYO Technology Solutions (AYO).
Survé is an indirect shareholder in AYO, through SIH’s investment in AEEI, and AYO is a minority shareholder in Sizwe Africa IT.
“Whenever Sekunjalo and I drive a transformation agenda like Ubank, the propaganda machine of the establishment Daily Maverick and News24 gangsters attack us.
“The neo-nazis of the media start their disinformation campaign,” reads Survé’s tweet, which refers to his recent announcement to support the re-capitalisation of Ubank.
Daily Maverick, in the main, along with other media houses, has been writing negative articles – hundreds of them – against Survé and Sekunjalo.
These articles or any adverse media are what South Africa’s major transactional banks are using as an excuse to shut down SIH and related company bank accounts.
Now that Survé has mobilised black business organisations to create a black bank, a direct threat to the establishment, the Daily Maverick and their founders are panicking and have once again turned on the engine to seed a disinformation campaign to sabotage that transaction.
“There has been a concerted effort for a while now, to put us all out of business.
“As I have stated on more than one occasion, this is solely aimed at gaining control over Independent Media and removing a differing narrative from that of the established mainstream.
“The continued attempts at discrediting me and the organisations in which I have any form of shareholding, are blatant, for anyone to see.
“But, I will not be cowed into submission – this is no longer about my right to trade, but about the rights of all black people in South Africa to have access to proper financial assistance – individuals and businesses.
“Just imagine how powerful it would be to have the majority of South Africans banking with an institution that has their best interests at heart!” Survé said.
No wonder then that the Daily Maverick, funded by the establishment, have so much to lose if Survé succeeds.