VBS liquidation was unavoidable

13 November 2018

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the North Gauteng High Court order to have VBS Mutual Bank liquidated.

We have long expected this decision given the dire state of affairs at the bank and have been of the view that no further public money should be spent on bailing out privately-owned companies.

This liquidation is long overdue, and the DA welcomes the fact that the public will not have to pay for the ANC and EFF’s looting of VBS.

The Prudential Authority – which operates under the auspices of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and is responsible for regulating banks, insurers, cooperative financial institutions, financial conglomerates, and certain market infrastructures – is legally obligated to apply for liquidation when it has evidence that a bank is insolvent.

Brian Shivambu, brother of the EFF’s Floyd Shivambu, is said to have received R16 million from the bank “without an apparent cause” and it was further alleged in media reports that evidence existed of Floyd receiving R10 million of that money.

The EFF also allegedly received a R1.3 million donation from the bank whilst the ANC confirmed it received R2 million from VBS.

The DA has called on both parties to pay back all the money they allegedly received from VBS. These transactions were not victimless – they were made at the expense of the poor.

Municipalities, burial societies and indeed clients are the biggest casualties of the looting of VBS and many will not see their money again.

Following the release of The Great Bank Heist report by SARB, the DA acted swiftly to ensure that individuals implicated in the report were investigated for their role in the ransacking of the bank.

Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests confirmed it would investigate EFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu for possible conflict of interest regarding payments he received from his brother, Brian, following a request by the DA.

The EFF and ANC’s coalition of corruption has caused suffering among the poorest South Africans. Our citizens have the power to ensure these parties account for what they have done by voting for the party that fights for them.

Issued by Kevin Mileham, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 13 November 2018