The ANC has reacted to the lawsuit launched by an aggrieved businessman seeking to claim R40-million from the former liberation movement over services provided in 2019.
According to an answering affidavit filed by Luthuli House general manager Patrick Flusk, Eltel sole director Asif Casoojee’s claim relates to debt that prescribed last year in October.
This, according to the ANC, means that the service provider failed to go to court in time to enforce the settling of the debt.
The ANC, therefore, wants the court to strike Casoojee’s application from the roll as it believes it has no legal leg to stand on.
READ: ANC made over R1bn in 5 years but won’t pay R40m they owe, claims businessman
In the ANC’s view, the fact that Casoojee previously threatened to drag the ANC to court but failed to do so worsens his situation.
ANC says R40m debt was ‘extinguished’ last year
“The ANC pleads prescription, and I am advised that a debt of this kind prescribes after three years. That prescription is interrupted by an acknowledgment of liability by the debtor or by the service of process on the debtor, and that an interruption by process lapses if the creditor does not prosecute the claim to final judgment,” writes Flusk on behalf of the ANC in the answering affidavit.
“The engagements of March to June 2026 alleged [by the applicant] at paragraph 15 of the founding affidavit took place after prescription had been completed. I am advised that an acknowledgment made after that date cannot revive a debt that has already been extinguished, and that interest, as a subsidiary debt, is extinguished with the principal debt. Nor was anything said in 2026 a renunciation of prescription: the ANC, through Tayfin, raised prescription with Eltel on 27 July 2026.
“The letter of 15 August 2022 fixed no new date for payment of the balance: it said only ‘We will enter into new negotiations on a payment plan’, and no plan was agreed. If Eltel contends that the letter postponed payment of the balance until a plan was agreed, then, since no plan was ever agreed, on that footing the balance has not become due, and Eltel has no claim to payment of it now.”
Casoojee has told the court that several empty promises to settle the debt were made, chiefly through text messages from then treasurer-general Paul Mashatile.
READ: ANC dragged to court as creditor demands R40m from IEC allocations
Initially, the businessman had sought a relief ordering the IEC to freeze public funds allocated to the ANC and redirect an amount equivalent to the party’s debt to him to his company.
Applicant accused of concealing some info
The IEC is opposing this, saying there is no legal provision for the entity to redirect funds meant for a political party for any other purpose.
Casoojee filed a supplementary affidavit insisting that the ANC was liquid enough to be able to pay his debt, having made in excess of R1-billion since 2021 from IEC funds alone.
The ANC further claims in its answering affidavit that Casoojee concealed fundamental information in his founding affidavit.
It says Eltel does not reveal in the founding affidavit that it brought a winding-up application against the ANC early this year but prematurely abandoned that route in July.
The ANC further claims that Eltel agreed in August that the dispute between them can be attended to after thee November 4 polls, and thus is dumbfounded by the urgent application seeking a precedent-setting court order.
Moreover, the ANC claims that the IEC is an irrelevant party to the dispute between it and Eltel and that there is no legal basis to seek relief from the court against the IEC to freeze funds meant for Luthuli House.
- The ANC claims the R40-million debt sought by businessman Asif Casoojee prescribed last year in October, meaning the claim is no longer enforceable.
- ANC general manager Patrick Flusk filed an affidavit arguing Casoojee failed to prosecute the claim to final judgment within the legal prescription period.
- Casoojee alleges broken promises from the ANC, including text messages from then treasurer-general Paul Mashatile, to settle the debt.
- The ANC accuses Casoojee of concealing the fact that Eltel previously filed but later abandoned a winding-up application against the ANC earlier this year.
- The IEC opposes Casoojee's request to freeze ANC public funds and redirect equivalent amounts to his company, stating no legal provision exists for such action.
