Ex-employees request

I thought that I was done, but had forgotten two matters that need to be brought under the attention of ex-employees.
One of the ladies wrote yesterday that she had a dilemma as far as her tax - IRP5 is concerned. Apparently she has not received her IRP5 from Edwafin, nor some of the last salary slips that proves that tax was deducted from her salary. Others have reported issues in similar vein. It seems that there is also a problem with pension deductions that essentially dissolved into thin air.

My suggestion to the lady was that she immediately contact SARS and inform them of the situation, and if other ex-employees in the same predicament follow suit it would probably strengthen your case. Another idea would be to consult with a labour lawyer, they are usually rather nifty in such circumstances. What you should not do is procrastinate or wait until the fan is blowing at gale force - act now.

Suggestions from other ex-employees would be very welcome.

Then my friend Marc Ashton of Fin 24 has invited any ex- or current employee with gripes and tales of woe to contact him, even if you would want to stay anonymous. He is an excellent reporter, and I can vouch that he will respect your wishes. Below is Marc's invitation in full:

If there are any Edwafin employees who would like to put forward their side of the story in the media and not be "tarred" with the same brush I'd love to hear from you.

Marc Ashton
Fin24.com
marca@fin24.com
082-561-1585

She helps you loose it, then she helps you get it back

I must admit we have some very sharp anonymouses (or is that anonymice) in our midst. Yep one picked up the email address of Carole Gardiner and traced it back to the following website (thanks anonymous you are a star):
Www.bouncegroup.co.Za

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business & Law Finance bouncegroup

Man oh man, isn't this reality of ours fun: first she helps you loose it, then she helps you return back to normal - at a price of course. No wonder that they say that the archetype of a clown is usually a sad one.

And yes, the lady responded to my somewhat heavy-handed answer to her letter:
20091520 Response carole Gardiner

Publish at Scribd or explore others: carole gardiner

Believe me, I can say a lot, but I do not intend to make this blog a slanging match between myself and anybody else. However, permit me:

• Your phone conversation with me was disdainful, arrogant, ignorant of the facts, unhelpful and plain rude. If 2000 Cape Townians like your style, well that is their prerogative - they can always turn to the mountain for guidance.
• Based on that experience, I never intended to have a 'clear line of communication' with you. I don't think you had anything sensible to contribute then and especially not now at this point - and it shows.
• Again you ignore the plight of the 4000 investors, that you and your friends undressed, and focus all the attention on yourself - self-pity it is called, a convenient way of drawing the attention away from realities.
• There still may be plenty of opportunity for you to defend yourself in time to come. Nobody demands that of you at this moment.
• You totally ignore all the shameless lies, untruths, and deceptions that were perpetrated by you and your masters - while you were there and afterwards. Much of it recorded on paper and disseminated to the public. Nowhere do any of the pardoners, apologize for the serious ride we were taken for, but the merely want to do business as before, as if nothing happened - 'trade ourselves out of trouble." Hum-hum.
  
• Two quotes from your letters, juxtaposed: "It’s a great pity as you may have gained some useful insight into the issue..." and "in the absence of being privy to any rescue plan and for the sake of the Edwafin investors". Now what really are you telling us? Are all those investors you spoke about now no longer on the horizon? Were you actually fibbing yesterday??? Our most important insight is that Edwafin squandered R200 million of our money. Now that is a useful insight.
  

Jechchi ... conversation is over. Good luck with the new venture, hopefully it will bring you fortunes.

Further responses from Gardiner will be published but not responded to by me.

From the depths of the Inferno came her voice: HYPE!

Out of the blue, today, an email arrived from Ms Carole Gardiner, erstwhile Director of Edwabond, and a variety of other capacities before that. I love Cape Town, I love its people, the mountain, the sea, die taal, and everything else Cape Townish. Therefore if I should receive an email from that vicinity, I am happy. However, enough about my affair with a town, here's the letter:
20090519 EMail Carole Gardiner

Publish at Scribd or explore others: carole gardiner edwabond

My and Ms Gardiner's liaison go back some months, and I think that it was in January 2009, that I spoke to her over the phone. I have mentioned the situation once before, but that is quite a few pages back. The conversation went something like this:

• Mario: "Good afternoon, I would like to request a form CM42 please. I have requested this form a number of times by phone and email, but there seems to be a problem"
• Ms G: "I don't know of such a form. What is the form for?"
• Mario: "I need the form to request my money back."
• Ms G: "You can't get your money back, you will have to see out the full five year term."
• Mario: "According to your prospectus, I am now entitled to my money back, seeing that you defaulted on your interest payments."
• Ms G: "You can't get your money back, you will have to see out the full five year term."
• Mario: "But you defaulted on ...."
• Ms G: "You can't get your money back, you will have to see out the full five year term."
• Mario: "I have spoken to Mr. Stapleton, and have had much correspondence with him, and he told me that I needed to submit a form CM42 tegether with a 'put'-option."
• Ms G: "This conversation is going nowhere. Email me and let me have the correspondence between you and Mr. Stapleton."

Isn't she cute? I remember as if it was yesterday. I also promised my wife never to use the words I used when I put the phone down again in her presence.

But then I remembered that Ms Gardiner and I have a history together that goes back many life times. The last time I was a pirate with a hook for a left hand (or was it the right hand? - anyway), and she was the admiral on one of her Majesty's ships. They had capture our ship and had boarded us, forcing us to defend ourselves. She (actually she was a he at the time) charged at me with his/her fiercely sharp cutlass and lunged at my heart .. I intercepted the steel blade with my hook, sparks flew into the air, and then I poke the thumb of my good hand deep into the soft, giving flesh of his/her eye. Since that day we both wore an eye patch. Although they captured us that day, Gardiner has never forgiven me for the loss of vision.

So I was a bit surprised to receive her letter, explaining her situation and opinion.

Ms Gardiner I respect your opinion, and thank you for your brave approach to our current situation. I am also appreciative of your role in the management of Edwafin. What baffles me is that as one that was appointed to the board during the early months of 2008 you were not aware of the impending doom that was approaching and that you only became aware of the situation in December 2008, after October and November had been months of struggle already. A number of ex-employees have written to inform this blog that they have repeatedly warned the board of impending problems. Unfortunately you also do not mention any other investments that were taken by the company in your charge after October 2008, but then you only exclude the Cape Town branch. So do we assume there were no investements made after October 2008? OK.

But let us accept that you were a minor role player in the Edwafin game, you still were a director of a subsidiary company, and even though you now have the benefit of vision of both eyes, you blithely ignore the plight that the company, of which you were a senior officer, put so many people through, the anguish, anxiety, heartbreak, emotional pain? Does not mean much to you? OK. Yet, and like Patrick (10 million plus), you consider it important for us to know, that you and your family have invested R5 million. Who the hell cares?

I respect your opinion about Edwafin's possible liquidation, there are others that share your view, while I'm ambivalent. Yet, if the directors of Edwafin had played open cards from the beginning, and if they would now stop uttering contradictory statements, it would be easier to support either side. You tell us that you "believe" that it would be better for the company to be put under Judicial Management, but like the remaining directors at edwafin, you provide us with no facts or figures. Come on, now. Is that all your learnt from Patrick: sending letters with empty statements, demanding to be believed by those you have inconvenienced so grievously?

You have another belief:

"I believe that the matter is being capably handled by the judiciary and that we should rather await this decision, desisting in the interim from further hype and speculation."

Hands up those who do not believe the judiciary is handling the matter capably! Of course we all agree with you, that is why we are waiting with abated breaths, "waiting for its decision". I tell you who had no confidence in the judiciary, it was Patrick and fellow warriors. They sent out questionnaires, with votes for and against liquidation or Judicial management; they arranged meetings for the investors with the purpose of convincing them with sweet sounding words. I must admit, reality is playing games with me, its like having an argument with my ex.

Then comes the clincher: "desist from hype and speculation. " Amen (Oops that was naughty of me)
From the dictionary: hype
1. (n.) Information disseminated to gain acceptance:
• publicity, advertising, promotion, puffery, circulation, write-up, buildup, promulgation, plug (colloquial)
2. (v.) To make known vigorously the positive features of:....

This blog talks about the difficult situation we, the investors, find ourselves in. Many statements are received that are not published for fear of retribution. Yes, it is true, that at times we speculate, and in view of the lack of transparency from Edwafin, who could blame us? Edwafin could not look after our interests so we have to do it ourselves. But considering the utterances from the majesties of commerce at Edwafin, who on earth is hyping whom?

It ironic that you end your letter with the same hazy, neither-here-neither-there promises of possible investments - an old Patrick-trick that we have heard him expound since early November 2008. Now that you have the sight of both eyes back, can't you see that the investor needs factual information - not just vague, misty, bedraggled statements of futuristic events. Sies man.

You represent an archetype I do not trust... and no, I have no questions for you.

Avalanche warning - the trees are coming to life!

Yep, we are back from the doc and he is fine; his bank balance has been improved, and he is as excellent a person as he always was. He said something that I found profound:

"Few people are brave enough to live a high spiritual life, to be aware of their higher being."

That made my headache disappear.

So far it was a fun day: I have mentioned the doctor, my wife is friendly, the sun is shining and I made a few bucks on the futures market. Whisper: never trust your wife to read what you write. Mine had me edit yesterdays blog to remove the errors of language, and that while I was still in bed! She has the sharpest eyes in the universe - tremble, tremble.

After yesterday's class-action mention, it was as if certain parts of the world suddenly woke up. It reminded me of a scene in one of "The Lord of the Ring" films where the mighty forest of trees suddenly woke up, began moving, and proceeded to meet out havoc to the enemy. Many emails arrived, even up to a few minutes ago, and even phone calls from past staff members pledging support for whatever the investors decide to to. The crowning surprise was to receive an email from Carole Gardiner, ex CEO of Edwabond. This I will discuss in the next blog (yes, of course today.)

Unfortunately, the most telling email came from a person who was able to clearly set out what happened around middle December 2008. Unfortunately, and for good reasons, I promised the person to keep the lids on the letter until perhaps need in court.

But let us get a bit more serious.

Yesterday as well as today, I have received a variety of comments from past-employees of Edwafin and subsidiaries, some rather high up in the managerial levels of the company. Most prefer not to have their names or submissions published, but two have commented anonymously to this blog. Since the comments to these pages are not that obvious when one arrives at the blog, I would like to quote both below:

Hi Mario,

I know that this blog was initially intended for the wronged investors, but ex-employees have also been lied to and led down the dingey cellar stairs by the "famous flabulous four" (oh yes, there were more - but as you mentioned they have slipped back into the snake hole they came out of) There are many of us who at our initial job interviews were led to believe the company was a profitable and successful one, and there were super promises of greatness,learning and growth, as well as fantastic career benefits "forging the way into a new frontier", one that many left secure jobs for, and put our qualifications, licences,reputations and very careers on the line for, and woke up a year or so later - retrenched, unpaid and unceremoniously kicked out of the offices. Please do belive that there are many former employees who are not you enemy - many of us sat in silence disgusted at your situations, and sickeningly aware of the fact that it would happen to us too! Yet as we sat, monitored by CCTV from every angle, our incoming and outgoing e-mails opened and read with a fine tooth comb, our telephone conversations tapped into, and sneaky little Stapleton spies everywhere; many of us sat back stumped and wondered "How the hell did I end up here, and how do I get out?" And yet meeting after meeting we prayed together, were assured that "God is on our side" and greatness sits just over the horizon - hang in there we have almost weathered this storm; and " No, we are not considering any retrenchments" Those who apposed and voiced their uneasy consciences were retrenched for "Operational Requirement" reasons or bullied into resigning for fear of having the deepest dark secrets of their personal lives revealed to all; and most on leaving were awarded the same respect as you and the other investors. We diligently log onto your site, hearts aching and minds boggled at what has transpired. Keep your ear to the ground - we are approaching from the rear - and reach a hand out to all the investors in support. What happened was WRONG, and should NOT go unpunished.

I believe this lesson has been bought to us to test and stretch and strengthen us in many ways. To the former employees - find your voice and the you that existed before Edwafin - the battle is not over, and together we can reclaim our dignity, self-respect and self-confidence we lost along the way. And hopefully, eventually, actually get paid what they owe us.

and the second:

To anonymous number one - I have no idea who you are, but I was standing with you through this as I too found myself in the same situation and I too was dumped on the side walk because I raised my concerns. The staff who didnt form part of the directorship were all victimised, scrutinised and had their spirits and self esteem broken. I too watch this site daily - I want to see the wheel turn - But Marc & Mario believe Anonymous when they say that the ex employees and hell, probably the last few that are still there were broken down mentally and spiritually like you would not believe.

I was rather moved when i sensed the desperation, anger and sadness in the tone of both these emails. These feelings were confirmed when I read the others that arrived as well. These letters speak for themselves, and one senses as sense of responsibility for what has transpired in our lives.

Here I speak for myself, but there may be others who feel the same way (in fact I know there are). I do not hold the representatives who sold the debentures to us, as well as any other supporting staff, responsible for selling us the dud investments. I firmly believe that one must have confidence in what you sell in order to be able to sell any product, and I think these agents must have been solidly under the spell of the hype that was disseminated by Edwafin to the public. The two persons who visited us were decent, honest and sincere people, I don't like them less now than I did when we signed our money over to Patrick and friends.

However, my heart does go out to those ex-employees whose careers were put in jeopardy and whose names became sullied by association. Most of them suffered a great deal materially as well, and are still trying to get salaries, pension money and severance packages from the Fantastic Four + 1 tiny one. They are scared to speak out under their own name, or to speak out at all because of real or perceived danger of physical harm.

To these people I can only say that I'm sorry that they have fallen prey to the same cruel intentions, by the same people, as the investors. If you would like to join the possible class action, the email address is on the right hand side of this page: edwafinclass@chromatique.com. Pleas do not hesitate to make your voice known on this blog, we are talking about a phenomena of which we are all part.

And the Judge Thinketh .....

Well, the court was very busy yesterday, and I had to wait until this morning after Pietermaritzburg had had a good sleep. I would like to thank my new friend in PM for talking to me so friendly so early in the morning. (If you make me president I'll make a law prohibiting working hours before 10:00 in morning. Look what it does to us laid-backs we have to switch on clock alarm just to get into step with those hard working folks - it's just just not fair on us.)

Alas we have to wait some more as the judge will give his judgement only towards the end of the week.
So we'll wait some more. It is not as if we are not used to it.

Have to go to the doctor to see if he is well. When I get back I will blog a bit more as we got some rather touching comments from past staff members of Edwafin - need special attention.