2013年10月22日星期二
Ralph Lauren Kids Sale has thus far attracted less
Lawsuits just keep piling up
The company that held a major contract with the anc for its january 8
celebration earlier this year says it is owed r10million and the party
is not paying. Ralph Lauren Outlet
And subcontractors of the company that held the primary contract for the
anc's campaign ahead of last year's local government elections say they
have not been paid in full.
Documents in the mail guardian's possession support this claim.Yet the
anc maintains that it lives within its means and that the only bill it
has not paid is under discussion.This itself is in dispute, however.
Details of the anc's funding and the contracts it is involved in are
hard to get.There is no obligation on political parties to disclose the
source of donations or how much money they receive.
In terms of contract disputes, the close links between the party and the
government make for tightlipped companies and individuals.
"If you deal with government departments that give out business, just
about everyone that makes a decision there is deployed from the
anc,"Said one source this week, after being pressed for information. "If
i tell you things i'll be blacklisted.Maybe not on paper, but i won't
be getting tenders, that's for sure. "
Anc's nonpayment affecting small businesses
But a growing number of legal actions some of which cite the anc but
none of which directly involve the party provides some insight into the
complex dealings of the party and the impact the apparent nonpayment of
full amounts due on contracts is having on small and mediumsized
businesses and their employees.
"If we had been a little bit smaller and a little bit less cashflush, we
would certainly have gone under because of this,"Said gary king of
television commercial production house picture tree. "What ended up
happening is that people didn't get the salary increases and bonuses
they deserved. "
Picture tree shot, at short notice, a television commercial for the anc
election campaign last year.Though it was due to be paid in may 2011, it
is still waiting for just less than r700000.The company has now served
summons to recover that money and is awaiting judgment.
But picture tree is not suing the anc, even if the party was the
ultimate beneficiary of its work.The company responsible for the payment
is blueprint strategic communications, a small blackempowered agency
that shares offices with an architecture firm in rosebank.Blueprint was
appointed to handle all the party's advertising needs for the election
campaign and the anc even issued a statement, on february 3 2011, to
note how"Pleasurable"It was to have it appointed.
Primedia also going to court
Picture tree is not alone.The primedia outdoor advertising group has
also gone to court to recover just more than r2million it says it is
still owed for a billboard advertising campaign that ran between march
and may 2011.Normally, such a campaign would be contracted out by the
client itself, but contrary to standard industry practice there are two
parties that acted as middlemen in this instance.Primedia is therefore
not suing the anc or blueprint but major advertising company mms
communications, a company primedia counts as a major client.
"We're just saying they should pay the money,"Said steve ratlou,
executive chairperson of primedia out of home. "There was a service
provided and that should be paid.We've served the summons and we haven't
yet heard from them.There is no payment plan in place. "
Ratlou is the only party the m spoke to who would say on the record what
many others will repeat only in private:That the moral responsibility
for the payment lies with the anc.As the anc was not party to the
contract, however, the company is suing mms instead.
Mms, by way of advertising industry veteran gordon patterson group
managing director of one of its operating arms, starcom mediavest, which
worked on the anc contract said as far Ralph Lauren Shirts
as it knew the anc had not paid blueprint.
"We're taking advice from our international shareholders on the
matter,"Said patterson, after being asked whether mms would defend the
summons or sue"Up the chain"In turn. "As far as we are concerned,
starcom operated as an agent for blueprint.We have assisted and continue
to assist blueprint as far as we possibly can to recover the money from
the responsible principal. "
Anc aware of the debt
The m is also in possession of what appears to be an acknowledgment of
debt from the anc, dated august 5 2011, which does not state an amount
but says the balance due to"Blue print" (Sic) "Will be settled in due
course".
According to sources who did not want to be named, the balance is in the
region of r20million.
But on thursday, responding in writing to questions from the m anc
treasurer general mathews phosa said: "The anc does not owe blueprint
strategic marketing communications any money for reasons well known to
them. "
The dispute about who owes whom what is strangely reminiscent of a more
recent matter, which Ralph Lauren Kids Sale
has thus far attracted less legal action.Some of the many hundreds of
artists and technicians involved in the production tshihumbudzo:Our
story, our future, as part of the anc centenary celebrations in january,
have not been paid in full, it emerged this week.
The primary contractor, vwv interactive, would initially not comment on
the matter, but subsequently said some of the people and companies it
had hired had only been paid 50% of the money due to them because that
is all it had received from the anc.
Again, the anc disagreed.In his written response, phosa said the party
owed vwv just more than r6.2million;By phone he told the m that because
the live performance of the show in bloemfontein had been rained out,
the payment of that amount was under discussion. "We didn't cause the
rain,"He said. "You could say the rain washed away the payment. "
Vwv was somewhat surprised to hear that. "We have not been informed of
any dispute based on force majeure,"Said a source within vwv, when told
of phosa's response. "It is public knowledge that the show screened on
television [twice, to an estimated audience of four million viewers the
first time] was a full dress rehearsal, because [the main show] was
entirely rained out.But we have not been informed of any dispute based
on that. "
The source also, more than a little reluctantly, said the outstanding
amount is"Closer to"R10million.
Treasurer says anc fundraising doesn't concern suppliers
Phosa said the anc had done some fundraising this year, but that was no
concern of its suppliers.Asked whether the party was aware of the
situation of some subcontractors who had worked on its contracts, he
said"The anc does not pry into our main contractors' arrangements with
their The website of Ralph Lauren
subcontractors".
He said vwv was responsible for paying its contractors once it received
the outstanding money and that blueprint had told the party it had made
arrangements to pay its subcontractors.That does not appear to be the
case, according to at least two subcontractors.
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