Rupe may have over-posted.But, unfortunately, much of what he...

Rupe may have over-posted.

But, unfortunately, much of what he has been posting is based on fact.

Especially spot-on re the foggy nature of the mandates held by Puntland Govt and the TFG. The tied vote in Punty Parliament was a real eye-opener for me. Not a great result after 2.5 years of substantial payments and good works(e.g.airport upgrade and educating Puntlanders at Curtin) by rrs.

As for rrs itself, terrible record of management, bodgy associates, bodgy shorting, little cash left to spend, risky environment both in Puntland and in Perth. All genuine concerns for genuine holders.

I think it was jgoliner who listed the current positives. I laugh at the off-shore jv imminent bit because same has been spruiked for 2 years minimum. The other positives are genuine, especially re the UN and the tackling of the piracy problem.

Main problem for rrs is credibility. Everyone is aware that the Horn is a very risky place to operate. Even so, out of 100 potential investors, 10% may have risk tolerance such that they are prepared to invest a portion of their funds in that part of Africa. The location itself rules out perhaps 90% of investors, they don't want to risk their cash in such an environment. Of the remaining 10% (those who are prepared to invest in risky spec plays) how many of them have been turned-off rrs due to the obscene cashburn, bodgy associates, bodgy shorting, lack of communication and pathetic rumour mill (think Chines, Korean, Italian, involvement etc)?

So even though there are genuine positives for rrs and some chance of success, the negatives of political risk, fundamentalist terrorism, and poor management remain.

Unfotunately, its the poor management that can scare even risk tolerant investors away.

The people at the helm, those who have seen rrs become a laughing stock, the asx joke/dog stock of the year on their watch, are still there.

Credibility and trust are very hard to win back once lost.