Independent Newspapers
Sibusiso “Deebo” Mzobe (foreground) has extended an olive branch to Rubro Building and agreed to pay the R7 million his construction company, Deebo Holdings, owes the contractor.
Durban – President Jacob Zuma’s cousin, Sibusiso “Deebo” Mzobe, has extended an olive branch to Rubro Building and agreed to pay the R7 million his construction company, Deebo Holdings, owes the contractor.
Deebo Holdings was put into final liquidation last week following an application in the Durban High Court by Rubro Building, which claimed it had not been paid for a low-cost housing contract.
Judge Themba Sishi granted the liquidation order after no one appeared in court to represent Deebo Holdings.
In an interview on Wednesday, Mzobe, who initially opposed the application, claimed he was unaware of last week’s court date and intervened only after he saw media reports that his company would be liquidated.
Mzobe is well known as the “mayor of Zumaville” because he is in charge of developing Zuma’s home town, Nkandla.
He recently married his young bride at a traditional wedding reportedly attended by 8 000 guests, including Zuma.
Rubro managing director Charl Roux argued in an affidavit that Deebo had been awarded a contract by the Mkhondo municipality in Mpumalanga province to build 400 houses. It had subcontracted the work to Rubro for R50 000 a house, excluding R4 000 per house for geo-technical work.
Roux said it had been agreed that Rubro would submit certificates to Deebo Holdings, which would then submit a claim to the municipality.
Once money was received, Deebo was to pay Rubro within seven days.
But Roux said he “experienced difficulties” being paid throughout the contract and approached directors of Stedone Construction – of which Deebo was a subsidiary – to ask for their intervention.
A letter of demand, sent in November, had elicited a response from a lawyer “denying any guarantees by Stedone” and saying that Deebo was having “serious financial difficulties”.
Mzobe said this week that he had scheduled an “urgent” meeting with Rubro and their attorneys.
The Mercury understands that during the meeting, Mzobe presented a plan to pay back the R7m in settlements.
On Wednesday, Mzobe blamed the management of his company for not the bringing an “urgent” matter to his attention.
“I am involved in a lot of business and I do a lot of things.
“I am a very busy man. I have staff that run things for me and I was not made aware of the seriousness of the Rubro matter,” he said.
The Mercury
