Sagarmatha sues Ramaphosa, other state organs for R50bn over hindered foreign exchange listing

Sagarmatha Technologies is suing President Cyril Ramaphosa and various organs of state and regulatory bodies for R50 billion ($3bn).

Sagarmatha is the second company in the Sekunjalo Group to claim for damages from various organs of state and regulatory bodies for allegedly deliberately withholding permission to list on a foreign exchange.

In a statement on Sunday, Sekunjalo Investment Holdings said Sagarmatha has complied with terms of section 3(1) and (2) of the Institution of Legal Proceedings Against Certain Organs of State Act No 40 of 2002 (“the Institution Act”), by giving the various respondents six months’ notice.

These include the President of the Republic of South Africa, Dr Leila Fourie, who is group chief executive officer of JSE Limited, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, the National Treasury, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and the State Attorney.

As well as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) “for obstructing the listing of Sagarmatha on its chosen foreign stock exchanges after the company had raised the requisite funds from international investors”.

The statement said Sagarmatha’s valuation, performed by two separate international professional organisations, saw it attract investment interest, in 2018, of approximately R50bn.

“The listing was prevented from being realised, as too was the local listing on the JSE, despite the JSE giving written approval of the listing, by a deliberate and malicious campaign to discredit Sagarmatha and Dr Iqbal Survé.”

At the time, the statement said, Sagarmatha would have been the first multi-sided platform (MSP) to have been created in Africa and to have listed abroad, adding that the country is now opening its doors to welcome overseas companies instead of supporting the commercial prospects of home-grown initiatives and businesses.

“Sagarmatha supports the notion that more must be done to prevent the blurred lines of politics and business in South Africa, and this is another key reason why it has made the decision to pursue legal action against the named entities who have acted in bad faith and in contravention of the Constitution.”

The company said the government and its officials need to be held accountable.

It said an environment to stimulate economic growth and success should not be “just pretty speech” but should be enacted with the right framework to promote sustainable success.

“Despite numerous requests for the situation to be resolved over the years, the government has been unforthcoming, necessitating the current action.”

The Justice Ministry said it was not aware of the notice and the other named parties could not be reached for comment by deadline on Sunday.

The Mercury