| Founded | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Area served | South Africa |
| Key people | Popo Molefe (Chairman) Mamatho Netsianda (CEO) |
Chancellor House is a South African group of companies active in the mining, engineering, energy and information technology sectors.[1] It is named after Chancellor House, the building where the law firm of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo was located.[2]
After initially being exposed as a surreptitious funding front for the African National Congress it was subsequently acknowledged as an in-house investment firm for the party.[3] It is best known for the controversy surrounding the award to it of lucrative black economic empowerment and parastatal contracts.
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The existence of the company was first brought to light by the Mail & Guardian newspaper in a 2006 article. That article alleged that the company had been formed in 2003 on the initiative of Mendi Msimang, then treasurer-general of the ANC, with the explicit intention of raising funds for the party.[2]
Prior to the newspaper report the company was virtually unknown; Kgalema Motlanthe, then secretary general of the party, reportedly first learned of it when contacted by the newspaper for comment.[4]
In November 2007 parastatal electricity supplier Eskom awarded the biggest single contract in its history, for six steam generators worth R20 billion, to a consortium including Hitachi Power Africa. At the time of the award that company was 25% owned by Chancellor House.[5]
In February 2008 the ANC said it would appoint advisers with a view to transparently exiting the transaction due to governance issues.[6] In March 2008 the office of the Public Protector said an investigation into the transaction was underway.[7]