MBABANE; Today marks a major milestone as Status Capital Building Society (SCBS) and SDFF announces a successful settlement relating to the investment originally advanced to SDFF.
This was revealed by permanent member Dave Van Niekerk.
Niekerk explained that over the past few years, extensive engagement had taken place between himself , the previous companies that SCBS had invested in.
He pointed out that all investments made during his tenure as a non exec board member have been settled now-The latest being SDFF.
“I would have preferred that the parties only settled once the curator’s tenure was over and the society members were managing the society themselves. However, given the continued presence of the appointed curator and the position taken by the FSRA, SDFF was ultimately compelled to defend legal action initiated against it and to agree to the settlement.”
Furthermore,he outlined that as part of the settlement, SDFF has agreed to start the repayment of a total amount of E85 million, which is capital and inclusive of interest.
“The first E10 million has already been paid and is reflected in SCBS bank statements. The remaining balance will be repaid progressively over the next few months.”
Additionally,Niekerk cited that,
Despite these repayments, members currently had no assurance regarding how the received funds will be managed or allocated, as long as the Building Society remained under the control of the curator, and while members and key leadership, including Michael Mbetse, remained excluded from operational oversight.
“It is equally important to acknowledge that previous repayments from other investments – such as the E35 million remitted earlier this year – have not been transparently accounted for. This raises questions about governance, spending priorities, and the continued use of Society resources for unnecessary overheads and protracted legal battles that do not serve the interests of members.”
“Notwithstanding these concerns, the SDFF repayment represents a crucial milestone as this brings to a close all the investments made while I was still a board member .
However he also pointed out that as matters stood, the Building Society was still bound to face a financial shortfall due to historical mismanagement and wasteful expenditure. Dave went onto to say that he had taken out adverts and put up billboards last year to warn members that the building society was being mismanaged. Most of that management team is now gone. However the members are basically shut out of their own building society which has their money.
“I remain committed to supporting members in restoring proper governance, reinstating democratic control, and securing new investment capital for SCBS once a member-elected board is reinstated and the curator’s role is brought to an end.”
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