‘Rosie Daaminds tried to bribe me’

As some workers of Nelson Mandela Bay’s bus system continue to battle their bosses, a statement to the police has surfaced linking the city’s political head of transport, Rosie Daaminds, to an alleged  R1m bribery attempt.

Daaminds, who is accused in the statement of trying to strong-arm Spectrum Alert’s head of security, Adam Prince, into opening a case of theft against the company’s board of directors, is being investigated by police for alleged intimidation.

She has strongly denied the allegations, saying she never even met Prince.

The statement came to light as the city’s only operational Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) bus service was disrupted yet again on Monday, leaving commuters who use the route from Cleary Park to the Port Elizabeth city centre stranded.

Workers burnt tyres and protested outside the Cleary Park depot in the morning, demanding a week’s wages they believe they are owed by Spectrum Alert — which runs the bus service on behalf of the municipality.

They are also demanding the dissolution of the company’s board.

The bus service was suspended for almost two weeks between December and January after about 250 workers downed tools in a wage dispute.

The workers, who have been paid intermittently for several months, were finally paid a week ago after Spectrum Alert received its money from the municipality.

The late payment by the municipality was due to its computer systems being down in December.

The tensions between the Spectrum Alert board and IPTS workers have, meanwhile, escalated amid claims that Daaminds is hell-bent on dissolving the board and placing an administrator in charge.

In the police statement dated July 14, Prince claims that while he was being driven around in a Mercedes-Benz in Helenvale, Daaminds tried to get him to help her in a plot to prove that the board was incompetent.

In exchange, he would allegedly receive R1m, he said.

According to the statement, inside the vehicle on July 13 were “Chris”, “Terrence” and “Rose”.

Prince identified the three to The Herald as former Spectrum Alert CEO Chris King, Northern Areas Taxi Operators’ Association secretary Terrence Langtry and Daaminds.

He says in the statement that  he was picked up by the three a few days after a man walked into the offices of Spectrum Alert and brazenly stuffed his pockets with bus tickets worth R5,600.

“Terrence and Rose were busy talking, trying to convince me to open a docket so that the board of directors would be said to be incompetent.

“They even offered me [a] drink,” he says in the statement.

Prince says further that “Rose” was sitting in the back seat with him when she showed him a black briefcase.

“She opened it. It had lots of R200 notes in it.

“She said if I agree to open a docket against the company’s board of directors they will give me R1m.”

Prince says he declined the money and was then let out the vehicle, and he  walked home.

He claims he received two calls earlier that day urging him to go to the police.

The first call was from “Rose”, who told him she worked for the municipality.

“I told her I can’t do that [go to the police] as it was an internal issue.

“Terrence” then called, saying that the board must be shown to be incompetent so the municipality could take over.

“He said I must not worry about my job because when they dismiss me I will only stay one week at home. He will employ me.”

He said he was not interested in taking the money.

“I never even counted the money. I just wanted to get out.”

Daaminds has vehemently denied the allegations, calling them “bullsh*t”.

“I have never met Prince. It is bullsh*t.

“People are playing dirty. I never bribed anyone with R1m,” she said.

Daaminds said her lawyers were already dealing with the statement made by Prince.

“Immediately when the police informed me, I took it to my lawyer so he can deal with it.

“It is bullsh*t. I never asked him to open a case,” she said.

“I am even willing to go for a lie-detector test.

“I can’t wait for this article to be published so I can send [it] to my lawyer.”

Spectrum Alert CEO Trevor Harper believes King has been trying to wrest back control of the company since he was sacked.

“King is behind it all,” he alleged.

“He has been trying to get back in since he was suspended in April.

“If you are not wanted why do you want to come back?”

King was eventually fired in August after a R4.3m “hole” had been discovered in the company’s finances, board chair Granville Malgas said in a court affidavit in 2019.

King, who is also the chair of the Northern Areas Taxi Operators’ Association, laughed off the allegations made by Harper and Prince.

“If I had R1m, I would walk away. I think Prince just woke up from a dream,” he said.

King said when he had learnt about Prince’s statement, he contacted the police and urged them to be thorough in their investigation.

“The detective must proceed so that Adam can be charged with perjury,” he said.

On Harper alleging that he wanted control of Spectrum Alert again, King said: “Was he sober when he told you this?

“Regardless, that allegation is unfounded. There are many people concerned about how things are being run.”

Though Langtry could not be reached for comment, WhatsApp messages sent to his phone were marked as read.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said a case of intimidation had been opened.

“Most of the statements have been taken, except one [that] is outstanding from a councillor,” she said.

“But once the investigation is complete, the case will be sent to the senior public prosecutor for a decision.

“Additional charges can or may be added at a later stage. At this stage, it is only intimidation.”

Asked why a statement from the unnamed councillor had still not been taken six months after Prince’s statement to the police, Naidu said: “The investigation has no specific time period and the council has been unavailable since then.”

Meanwhile, a secret recording has surfaced in which Daaminds is heard encouraging the workers to stand firm in their wage dispute with Spectrum Alert.

In the leaked recording, Daaminds is heard telling the workers at a meeting that Spectrum Alert had been better managed under King.

“Your eyes are now open,” she tells the crowd outside the Port Elizabeth City Hall on Monday last week.

“During the time of King [as CEO], you didn’t experience such a thing.”

She then admits that there were some issues with King but nothing of this magnitude.

“I am going to ask you again, try to stand your ground.

“If you say ‘no’, let your no mean no. If you say ‘yes’, let your yes mean yes.”

Commenting on the recording, Daaminds said the workers had asked for her assistance.

“They came to me like small children asking for assistance because they never got paid.

“We trust Spectrum Alert to run our services but why can’t they run it properly?”