Checkmate drama

Now that the focus of corruption busters is on the ties between politics, private sector and the underworld it is a pity that under current legislation companies are still able to protect the identity of their shareholders.

The Checkmate drama that is playing out this week is a fine example. Reports that MP Frans Richardson is “a childhood friend” of the company’s director may be correct, but what do they tell us about the real relationship between the two?

Being someone’s childhood friend is certainly not a crime, or even suspicious, but there have been suggestions that MP Richardson could be a shareholder in Checkmate.

That’s not a crime either, but it would be useful to have this fact publicly established – one way or the other.

Richardson has stood up for Checkmate in parliament but until this thing is cleared up, people may be under the impression that he actually stood up for himself.