Cape Town – ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has denied that the party owes R102 million to a branding company for election material, despite a court order attaching the party’s assets to recover the funds.
According to News24, Mbalula said that the ANC plans to open a criminal case and has not seen the writ execution order issued against them.
“We have not received this writ attachment that is circulating. You can only comment on something you have received. Should we receive it, we will challenge that.
“This is fraud to us, it’s a fraudulent matter, and we will open a case with law enforcement, and that this matter should be investigated, we have taken steps dealing with the matter privately.
“How could we have given one person a campaign of R102 million for elections for things we have not seen?
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The case involves Ezulweni Investments, which claims it is owed the money by the ANC.
The company supplied the governing party with campaign material for the 2019 general elections and it was never paid until it sought the court’s intervention to recoup the money, IOL reported.
The ANC first lost the matter in September 2020 in the same court when acting Judge Urmila Bhoola ruled that the ANC must pay more than R102m.
Bhoola ordered the ANC to pay over R100m, including interest at a rate of 15% per annum from May 9, 2019, or alternatively, May 31, 2019, and further alternatively, June 30, 2019, at the rate of 10.25% per annum to the date of payment, the report said.
NEWS: The Johannesburg high court has issued a writ of execution allowing the Sheriff to attach goods belonging to the ANC & sell them to pay R102 million to Ezulwini Investment. The company supplied the governing party with campaign material for the 2019 general elections. @IOL
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) May 30, 2023
The ANC was also ordered to pay another R2.4m, including interest on the amount at the rate of 10.25% per annum from May 9, 2019, alternatively, May 31, 2019, further alternatively, June 30, 2019, to payment date.
The party argued in court that it did not have an agreement with the company, but Ezulweni presented text messages showing some agreement.
The ANC intends to appeal the judgment but missed the deadline to file appeal papers.
Mbalula expressed disbelief that the party, which is financially struggling, would enter into such an expensive deal and stated that a criminal case would be opened, considering the matter fraudulent, EWN reported.
“Then our campaign should have been wow if we spent R102 million on billboards or anything of that sort. We were struggling, where would we get R102 million?,” he said.
Mbalula added: “It is a big concern to us that we could get to this stage, where the courts have ruled against us and give these people the possibility that they’ve got a case.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
