The group calling themselves the VBS Minority Shareholders held a press briefing on Tuesday at the Graceland Hotel in Thohoyandou, during which they made a plea for the money stolen from depositors to be paid back. They also want the bank to be resuscitated with the help of a funder they have secured.
Speaking during the media briefing, the chairperson of the forum, Mr Madambi Muvhulawa, said the forum welcomes what the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has achieved in the case. The forum stated that they were pleased with the conviction of one of the masterminds behind the VBS capture, Tshifhiwa Matodzi, who was sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison two weeks ago.
"What is happening now is good for us. That Matodzi confessed and named people who benefitted illegally from our R2-billion will give more ammunition to the NPA. We believe more will be arrested, but our main concern is the money that was lost. They should pay back the money," he said.
Muvhulawa said that since the saga started around 2018, they have been calling for the government to intervene and resuscitate the bank, but to no avail. "We believe that not enough was done to save the bank, as they did with other banks. The fact that we are no longer updated about this whole saga has become a source of great concern. The decision to close down the bank was taken prematurely, and we believe now that with Wakanda Smart Consortium having joined the party, our dream to have the bank resuscitated will be realised," Muvhulawa said.
The forum's secretary, Mr Robert Livhoyi, said that out of the estimated R1.9 billion that was stolen, only R150 million has been recovered.
Mr Mabitsela Malefane of the Wakanda Smart City Consortium said they have been engaging with various stakeholders over the years to facilitate the bank's resuscitation. He blamed the Limpopo provincial legislature for sabotaging the process.