By 
By Lwazi Dlamini
In a sudden twist of events, over 100 of the 150 members of the beleaguered Status Capital Building Society have now signed a petition, passing a vote of no confidence to the current Board of Directors and further calling for the reinstatement of former director, the controversial Dave van Niekerk despite strong suspicions that he looted over E100 millions of their hard-earned savings.
The members, in a petition seen by the Eswatini Financial Times, have given the Board of Directors 14 days to call a Special General Meeting where they listed seven proposed resolutions which they want to be implemented which top of the top priority being getting rid of the current Board except long-serving member Almon Mbingo. Failure by the Board to call the Special General Meeting could result in the members calling their own meeting.
This comes at the height of the Status Capital Building Society Board filing summons in South Africa’s High Court (Gauteng division) in a bid to recover a sum of over E100 million invested in companies linked with the former director, Dave van Niekerk. Legal action has been taken against former directors Dave van Niekerk, Claude Sholtz and Edwin Soonius who left the organization in October 2020 and April last year.
The Eswatini Financial Times is in possession of an affidavit filed in the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division) on May 18, 2023, by Status Capital Building Society against Status Asset Management, who are cited as first respondents, with Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) the second respondents and he third respondents being Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
The members, according to the petition, are calling for the Special General Meeting because of the recent non-payment of matured investments in the Status Capital Building Society as well as the noncompliance demonstrated in terms of voting, having no prior meetings minutes and the irregularity of having alleged non-members such as ESW Investments representatives present at the Special General Meeting on Monday, November 20, 2023. Tensions continue between the remaining directors of the Status Capital Building Society and its members including former Director and permanent member, Dave van Niekerk.
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Eswatini Financial Times has reliably gathered that more than 50 members of the Society have elected to hold an additional Special General Meeting in which they will call for a vote of no confidence in the remaining Board Members, Nomfundo Fakudze and Sabelo Msibi, asking for them to step down. The Members are also concerned that the IT Manager, Auto Dlamini allegedly runs his own business on the side, whilst in the employ of Status Capital. The members are also petitioning for the closure of branches that have yet to be opened, as capital is unnecessarily being spent on rentals and renovations, instead of being used to service its members.
This petition circulated among the SCBS Members has been presented to the remaining board of SCBS, and Eswatini Financial Times has it in good authority that the number of those who have signed it is now well over 50. The unending battles between the current Board and the former director, Van Niekerk got even more interesting this week when the Board Chairman, Wandile Mtshali reportedly stepped down, leaving Nomfundo Fakudze as Executive Director and Sabelo Msibi as a non-executive director.
The members now want Dave Van Niekerk to step back in and save the SCBS inject additional capital and ensure a turnaround strategy. Van Niekerk is dangling an E10 million injection and more funding if he is allowed to bounce back as Chairman of a new Board. However, Status Capital Building Executive Director Nomfundo has warned the members not to be swayed by any misleading information or attempts by external parties involved in legal disputes with the organization to discredit the organization’s efforts to remedy the situation.
“We urge you not to be swayed by any misleading information or attempts by external parties involved in legal disputes with the organization to discredit Status Capital Building Society’s efforts to remedy the situation,” she said. In a letter addressed to the members, dated November 28, 2023, Fakudze said while the Building Society has experienced some setbacks, especially concerning delayed payouts for maturing members, due to broken agreements by previous investors and investment companies, they are doing everything in their powers to resolve the situation and ensure that the investments are returned. “This includes pursuing legal action locally and in the Republic of South Africa against relevant parties. It is important to confirm that Dave Van Niekerk, Claude Scholtz and Edwin Soonius no longer hold positions as directors within Status Capital Building Society and they are not major shareholders,”
Fakudze said.
. . . DAVE WRITES SCATHING ‘VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE’ LETTER TO THE BOARD
In a scathing letter directed to the Chairman of the Status Capital Building Society Board, dated November 28, 2023, former director and permanent member, Dave van Niekerk has accused the Board of having conducted themselves recklessly in the course of dealing with business transactions of the Building Society.
“I am writing this letter in my capacity as one of the major permanent shareholders and on behalf of the other permanent shareholders of Status Capital Building Society to convey my disappointment and a vote of no confidence in you and three co-directors. You have unilaterally and without any regard being given to the interests of the permanent shareholders and general members, resolved to switch payment mode to the members from a bank-oriented system to using MTN Mobile Money platform.
You took the above decision knowing that it clearly benefits your employer, MTN without any consideration being given to the fact that members have bank facilities they needed to service,” part of the letter reads. Van Niekerk also accused the Board of Directors of having been reckless and in breach of fiduciary duties to the permanent shareholders in that they completely failed to contain expenditure of the Building Society but rather “embarked on reckless expenditure of the Society despite the cash difficulties currently experienced by the Building Society by inter alia instituting and proceeding with legal proceedings at a great cost when negotiate settlements should and could have been achieved and by employing consultants to do work that you and the management team are paid to do”.
Van Niekerk said the Board also acted in a manner contrary to the interests of the permanent shareholders and other members in that, during the Society’s Special General Meeting of 20 November 2023, they deliberately allowed representatives of ESW Investments formerly Ecsponent Eswatini to be part of the meeting knowing very well they are not members of the Building Society.
“You have also continued to engage the service of the legal and compliance officer who was the legal and compliance officer of the failed Ecsponent Eswatini Limited (now ESW) under whose watch E340 million of investors monies were lost. The team that failed to safeguard investors money thus leading to investors losing millions of their investments. You ignored the concerns that I expressed to all of you in in this regard. This on its own demonstrates that you all have no regard for the safety of investors monies”. Van Niekerk said that given the conduct of the resigned Chairman Wandile Mtshali and the two co-directors Nomfundo Fakudze and Sabelo Msibi, they are not fit to hold office. Despite the attack, Van Niekerk himself is in a legal tussel over the collapse of Ecsponent. The blame has been placed at his feet despite claiming innocence.
