Johannesburg – As the South African government is rolling up its sleeves to recoup over R2-billion looted from VBS Mutual Bank, its parastatal is dodging to pay back over R102-million it secured from the bank to supply digital terrestrial television set-top boxes to poor households.
The funds were given to Leratadima Marketing, at the behest of state agency Universal Services and Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa), to manufacturer and supply half a million set-top boxes, which were delivered to the South Africa Post Office.
Despite using the funds, which were deposited by poor people, Usaasa refused to pay back the funds and instead paid the funds into Leratadima’s Absa account, ignoring the initial agreement to pay them into the company’s VBS account.
These shocking details are contained in court papers filed in the Joburg High Court by VBS curator Anooshkumar Rooplal in which he is applying for a court order to force Usaasa to pay back the funds to VBS.
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Rooplal said Usaasa advertised a tender on November 17, 2014 for the supply and delivery of the set-top boxes.
Leratadima was one of the companies that won the tender to manufacture, supply and deliver set-top boxes to poor households over a period of 36 months.
He said Usaasa, represented by its then CEO Zam Nkosi, drew a purchase order for Leratadima to supply 500 000 set-top boxes at an all-inclusive price of R689.26 per unit, which in total cost over R344-million.
He said VBS’s then CFO Phillip Truter, who has been jailed for his involvement in the looting of the bank, signed a contract with Leratadima’s director Itumeleng Mafoko to provide the latter with a revolving credit financing facility.
This, he said, was done on condition that a written confirmation from a duly authorised person from Usaasa confirmed the change of banking details to the Leratadima account held at VBS, as well as confirmation that they would remain unchanged for the duration of the loan.
“All payments of proceeds by Usaasa will be made by electronic transfer to the revolving credit financing facility account. Leratadima further undertook in clause 5.6 of the revolving credit facility agreement that as long as there are funds/monies outstanding in favour of VBS, it shall not change the banking details aforesaid, unless consent in writing is obtained from VBS,” read the papers.
He said that on January 18 2016, in Midrand, Nkosi and VBS’s then CEO Andile Ramavhunga concluded an agreement which stipulated that R344 630 000 due to Leratadima would be paid into VBS’s account. He said between January 18, 2016 and October 2017, Usaasa complied with its obligations by making payment directly into the VBS account.
Roplaal said Usaasa breached the agreement when it ceased paying the money into the VBS account from October 2017 to April 2018, and instead paid it into Leratadima’s Absa account.
He said he verified that Usaasa had confirmed in writing that 346 828 of set-top boxes were delivered to the South African Post Office warehouse on April 10, 2019. “This latter confirmation by Usaasa constitutes proof of delivery and receipt of DTT-STB’s relevant to the period during which Usaasa made payment to Leratadima’s Absa account in breach of its payment undertaking to VBS.
“In the premises VBS claims payment in the sum of R102 546 219.74 being the sum paid, in breach of Usaasa’s payment undertaking to VBS, to an account held by Leratadima with Absa Bank Limited. Usaasa has, despite demand, not made payment of the sum of R102 546 219.74 as claimed or at all,” read the papers.
Usaasa’s refusal to pay back the VBS funds flies in the face of government’s much-publicised efforts to recover funds siphoned from the mutual bank. Law enforcement agencies have recovered millions of rand and arrested those implicated in the bank’s looting, including Truter, Ramavhunga, former COO Robert Madzonga, former Limpopo ANC Youth Leader Kabelo Matsepe and ANC Limpopo treasurer Danny Msiza.
It remains to be seen how Usaasa will repay the money after the government last month set a target of March 2023 for the dissolution of the entity.
This information came to light during the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies briefing to parliament’s portfolio committee on communications. Usaasa spokesperson Keitumetse Hlahatsi declined to comment and said the matter was sub judice.
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