Business Day, 23 October 2002, CEF Subsidiary to Come Under Hammer,
By
CONTROVERSIAL
Central Energy Fund (CEF) subsidiary Enerkom will be auctioned next week
following the company's failure to commercialise the immune system booster that
formed the basis of its activities.
The
company has guzzled about R100m of taxpayers' money to date, mainly in its
attempts to commercialise the coal-based anti-HIV/AIDS immune system booster,
Oximate.
Enerkom
came under the spotlight last year when it emerged that its Oximate drug was
being tested on Tanzanian soldiers.
However,
the CEF has now admitted Enerkom's failure and the CEF board has decided to sell
it.
The
decision was based on the latest research on Oximate, which did not augur well
for the longterm viability of the project, acting CEF chairman Coen Kruger said
yesterday. He explained that
Enerkom
was established in line with the fund's mandate, which includes the initiation
of research and development projects in the field of energy, and to
commercialise these technologies if possible.
Enerkom
focused on the production and commercialisation of high-value coal-derived
products by using its patented oxidative coal conversion technology.
However,
the board decided that it could not continue funding the project, because
commercialisation, if possible, was not a possibility in the short term.
Auctioneer
Aucor will attempt to sell the company as a going concern and expects interest
from the agricultural and pharmaceutical sector. There will be no reserve price
on the assets.
These
will include Enerkom's pharmaceutical and agricultural pilot and processing
plant, including intellectual capital, a state-of-the-art laboratory, registered
and unregistered patents and a mechanical workshop including vehicles and
forklifts, as well as the R100m tax loss.
It
has been said that research on the AIDS drug has been badly recorded. But
potential buyers may also be interested in a handful of the company's other
activities, such as agriculture products also derived from coal-based substances
and which were successfully commercialised.
Kruger
said the decision to dispose of the company was not in any way influenced by the
Tanzanian incident, for which Enerkom received much criticism.