President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s nephew Olebile Joseph Pilane claims his estranged Chinese partner threatened to set the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DIS) on him if he did not resign from the company.
Pilane claims that he fell out with Huashi Li after refusing an instruction from his Chinese partner to pay the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) a 5% kickback from the more than Water Unitlities Corporation P500 million contract tender proceeds.
Pilane has filed a fresh trove of documents before court in a bid to thwart claims by his erstwhile Chinese partner that they were not shareholders in a company that was ‘hijacked’ by his aunties after bagging a half billion water tender.
Businessman Huashi Li alongside the President’s sisters Boitumelo Phadi Mmutle and Ketshidile Ntholo Hlanze were thrust into the spotlight recently after Masisi’s nephew, Olebile Joseph Pilane dragged them to court following a dispute over a Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) tender worth more than P500 million.
According to court papers, Li’s relationship with Pilane goes back to the time when Li’s companies subcontracted Pilane’s company. As the relationship blossomed, Pilane was appointed to the position of Managing Director of G&M Building Services and offered shares.
But Li is now distancing himself from such a relationship. Through his lawyers, Briscoe Attorneys Li denies any links with G&M Building Services. In a letter dated 1st June 2022, Briscoe Attorneys informed Pilane’s lawyers MK Moesi &Company that “Please be advised that our client is not a director nor shareholder in G&M Buildings Services (Pty) Ltd and therefore it is improper to address correspondence to him.”
Li’s attorneys were responding to a letter from Pilane’s lawyers dated 3rd May 2022 in which Pilane stated that he was a 40% shareholder in G&M Building Services and was until sometimes last year a director of the same company.
“Client instructs that there is an apparent dispute which led to him being forced to resign as a director of the Company in or around May 2021 after which the Company stopped paying him the monthly Director’s fee of P45 000.00,” MK Moesi &Company said.
Pilane’s lawyers also indicated that he had been barred by the managing director (Li) from attending to the business of the Company and further no dividend had been paid to him.
As the legal battle boils over, Pilane is pulling out all the stops in his bid to prove that he was a shareholder in G & M Building services in good standing until his aunties came into the picture.
He said the fact that Li is a director and a shareholder is confirmed with the signing by Li, on behalf both Pre-Con and G&M Building Services of documents relating to the tender for the Procurement of Works Contract for the construction of the Gamononyane-Molepolole NSC Connection Tender No.WUC049(2020).
In his amended court papers (declaration) Pilane reveals that the people who ‘hijacked’ his shares in the same company which he co-owned with Li are his “paternal aunts.” He also mentions how Li had threatened to use the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) to elbow him out of the company.
Initially in his previous court papers (particulars of claim) Pilane did not disclose how he was related to the two women nor did he identify the DIS by its name.
Chronicling how he and Li had known each other before his aunties came into the picture after G & m Building Services won the P500 million tender, Pilane said he was a shareholder and director of a company called Re-Sealing Botswana (Pty Limited (Re Sealing).
Prior to acquisition of shares in the G&M Building Services (Proprietary) Limited, Pilane said (through Re-Sealing) he had a business relationship with Pre-Con Construction (Pty) Limited, a company in which Huashi Li is a shareholder and director. He annexed a letter dated 19 September 2020 as proof of the said relationship.
According to the letter written by Li as managing director of Pre-Con, the letter “serves to confirm that Re-Sealing Botswana (Pty) ltd was subcontracted by Pre-Con Construction on the following projects: Construction of Mogodi hill to Pitsane Village pipeline.”
The project amount was P80 million. Re-Sealing Botswana ltd sub contacted work was connecting and levelling the pipes, construction of substation and construction of the reservoir. The total amount of sub contracted works to Re-Sealing Botswana was P32 million.
Another tender which saw the two men working together was the construction of Good hope Sub-District water supply scheme Augmentation phase. The project amount P132 million. The total amount of sub contract works to Re Sealing Botswana was P53 million.
“We hereby inform that the projects are both complete and have been handed over to the client,” Li said.
According to court papers, at the same period that Re Sealing has business with Pre-Construction, Li informed Pilane that he (Li) was a shareholder of G&M Building Services. Subsequently Pilane was appointed managing director of G & M Building Services and held 40 percent shares in the company. But things came to head after the company was awarded the controversial water project for Goodhope sub district worth half a billion Pula.
Pilane said soon after gaining information that G&M Building Services, Li started giving unreasonable instructions to him which he declined to implement.
Li instructed him to arrange for payment of 5% of the Good Hope Sub-District Water Supply tender contract sum to the Botswana Democratic Part which he Pilane on behalf of G&M Building Services declined. Upon receipt of the letter in which he declined to implement Li’s demands, he became Livid and threatened him with harassment by some State security agents.
He said he attended a meeting which was organized by Li at Phakalane. In attendance at the meeting were Boitumelo Phadi Mmutle and Ketshidile Ntholo Hlauze.
Pilane said he was presented with a letter to resign which he refused to sign and Li and Mmutle uttered words to the effect that some State Security agents (DIS) will ensure that he resigns from G&M Building Services. He said he reluctantly signed the resignation letter under duress.
As search conducted at CIPA by Pilane revealed that the shareholding of G&M Buildings Services has since been reconstituted with Kelebogile Monnaatshipi holding 80 shares and the remaining 20 shares being held by Tswelakhumo Ventures Propriety Limited Monnaatshipi (a company owned by Pilane’s aunties Mmutle and Hlanze).
In terms of the aforesaid joint venture agreement, Pilane was a 40% shareholder and Tianyuan Construction a 60% shareholder in the bid.
Pilane said in terms of the usual practice in the construction industry, the profit to be realized from such projects will be up to 20% of the contract price. He said the tender amount for the said works being P549 699 654.79, the profit to be realized by the joint venture would be P109 939 930.96. Court papers also show that the defendants’ 40% share of the said profit would be P43 975 972.38. Consequently, Pilane’s lawyers said, the defendants are jointly and severally liable to pay to Pilane, jointly and severally more than P17.5 million.
Some of the reliefs sought by Pilane are the transfer of his 40% shareholding in the company be declared unlawful. Pilane also demands judgment in the sum of more than P17.5 million.
