Public Protector Mkhwebane beats retreat on Bankorp
Busisiwe Mkhwebane tells court remedial action calls only for public funds to be recovered — and not necessarily or only from bank
Absa does not necessarily have to pay back the money for the Reserve Bank’s lifeboat loan to Bankorp in the ’80s and ’90s, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says in court papers. It is unclear who should be held liable as Sanlam, the major Bankorp shareholder when Absa bought it, is not mentioned in the remedial action she ordered earlier this year. It is understood Absa will contest this point, as it is mentioned in her report on Bankorp and in her remedial action. "The remedial action, insofar as Absa is mentioned, directs that steps be taken with a view to the recovery of the public funds given to Absa," Mkhwebane said in an answering affidavit filed on Friday in the court application by Absa, the Reserve Bank, the minister of finance and the Treasury to have the public reporter’s report reviewed and set aside. "There is no suggestion from the wording of the remedial action that the amount should exclusively or necessarily be recovered from Absa," she said. Finance Minister Mal...
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