Daily Maverick has been looking into liquefied natural gas (LNG) company, DNG Energy, following complaints from current and former employees and its suppliers about poor business practices that left them out of pocket.

Several sources described how they were left battling to pay school fees, medical aids and bonds as a result of the company not paying salaries and invoices for months. An attempt to obtain a response from the company escalated, with DNG employing lawyers to engage with Daily Maverick. Despite several attempts to set up in-person interviews or get a written reply to questions, DNG failed to take up the offer of a right of reply.

DNG Energy has touted itself as the leading LNG supplier, promising cheaper and cleaner alternative fuel to an ailing South African energy market that has been experiencing elongated rolling blackouts. 

Former and current employers, however, have questioned how this can be, in light of the company not paying salaries and struggling to keep its own lights on. 

This journalist spoke to numerous sources on and off the record, with some providing documentation on the allegations made against DNG, and also pored over court documentation to back up other allegations made in the story. 

Daily Maverick reached out to DNG Energy via email on 28 June 2022, in an attempt to obtain a response to the allegations and other queries about the company, after emails sent to the publication raised the alarm about the company. DNG Energy Group CEO Aldworth Mbalati called in response to the email, requesting a meeting that would clarify all the queries. 

DNG Energy, the company that promised SA energy security, struggles to keep its own lights on

Daily Maverick proposed a meeting for 4 July, but the company said it could only meet on 12 July. This journalist was put on an urgent and timely assignment and had to postpone the meeting of the 12th, and asked that it be pushed to the following week. 

This journalist was told that Mbalati had a bereavement and could not meet that week. Out of respect, Daily Maverick gave the CEO time to grieve and reached out a few weeks later, on 4 August, requesting a meeting, but to no avail. This publication made another attempt on 10 August to enquire about a meeting and was told that Mbalati was busy but a date and time for a meeting would be set on 15 August. 

The day came and went, with no confirmation of a meeting. This journalist once again sent detailed queries in the hope of receiving a response in writing. Instead, Daily Maverick was told that the CEO was busy with financial close but that the questions would be raised with him. 

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Still with no responses to the questions, DNG proposed a face-to-face meeting on 24 August. After almost two months of attempts to receive a response, this journalist, after consultation with editors, drew the line and set a deadline for responses – 17 August. 

On 19 August, this journalist was sent a legal note from Larry Marks Attorneys, who represent both Mbalati and his company, threatening Daily Maverick and this journalist with court action and legal costs should the publication publish the article without speaking to Mbalati. 

“If you decide to publish a story before taking the time to interview our client and obtain its version, bearing in mind the invitation referred to herein, or where you choose to publish an article, without evidence to support any allegations made or to selectively quote aggrieved persons, who have their own agenda, then our client who, we repeat, is still willing to provide you with a formal interview on the dates referred to above [Monday, August 22, 2022], may well be forced, through your conduct to institute a substantive damages claim against yourselves for damages in your personal capacities and against The Daily Maverick and its office bearers,” Larry Marks Attorneys said in the letter. 

The letter also stated: “We record your refusal to meet with him (Mbalati) and your insistence in proceeding to publish your article without giving him the opportunity to meet you and to respond to queries.” It added that the article Daily Maverick planned to publish was a “deliberate character assasination”. 

This publication took serious consideration of the letter and decided to meet with the CEO on the proposed date of 22 August. Efforts were made by this journalist to confirm the time and place, and was told instead that a response was to be given to the legal note before meeting. 

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Daily Maverick sent a note on 23 August, and in response Larry Marks set another date, 30 August, to which Daily Maverick agreed. 

On the day before the meeting, this journalist sent an email requesting a time and date, but there was no response. On the day of the meeting proposed by DNG and Mbalati’s lawyers, this journalist once again wrote to the attorneys and DNG, asking about the details of the meeting, to no avail. Instead, an automated out-of-office reply was received. 

To date, Daily Maverick has not received a response from Mbalati but has instead been met with threatening legal notes as well as an article in IOL news’ The Star that wrongfully conveys attempts to receive a response. 

The Star article, “DNG Energy head Mbalati takes on apologetic ‘Daily Maverick’” by Siyabonga Sithole (8 September 2022), quotes from a legal note sent to this journalist. The journalist did not make attempts to reach out to this journalist or Daily Maverick in seeking a response to form a balanced article. 

An email was sent to this journalist on 19 September from Larry Marks Attorneys after this journalist made a final attempt to give DNG a final right of reply on 15 September. The email stated: 

“If you recall our clients asked us to request an unequivocal undertaking, in writing, that the DM would treat the matter and in particular, our clients, in an even handed and unbiased manner. Our clients have not yet received such unequivocal undertaking from the DM. Please provide our client with such undertaking and upon receipt of the same, it will be more than happy to meet with you forthwith and to discuss your queries as intimated on our previous correspondences. Our clients’ rights remain strictly reserved.” 

Daily Maverick is yet to hear from DNG outside of the legal notes in what seems to be avoiding probing and addressing a lack of payment to former and current employees and suppliers. DM/OBP