Tribunal slaps down NCR's bullying of debt counsellor
Regulator tried to deregister private practitioner for daring to publicly criticise its handling of the African Bank matter
The National Credit Regulator's attempt to deregister a debt counsellor who criticised its failure to fully investigate African Bank's lending practices has been dismissed as an attempt to silence a critic. The regulator asked the National Consumer Tribunal to deregister debt counsellor Deborah Solomon, but the tribunal dismissed the case this week. The investigation into her conduct "could be perceived as intimidating and meant to silence a critic", said Fungai Sibanda, a member of the tribunal. Advocate Neo Sephoti and presiding member Professor Tanya Woker concurred. The regulator's case against Solomon, of Cape Town, dates back to August 2014, when she issued a media release commenting on the fall of African Bank. The release said the NCR had erred in not launching a full-scale investigation into the lending practices of the bank's entire network of branches and labelled the R20-million fine levied on the bank a "slap on the wrist" in light of the regulator's initial call for it...
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