Four years after a KwaZulu-Natal based marketing company scored a R102-million contract to supply election posters and banners for the ANC, it has still not been paid.
The ANC has lodged appeal after appeal in its bid to overturn court rulings that it must pay Ezulweni Investments, according to Groundup.
The ANC’s latest appeal bid to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), has now ‘lapsed’ because it did not file documents on time.
The Supreme Court of Appeal advised the ANC’s attorneys that its heads of argument were due on 28 March 2023, but they have not been submitted. ‘The appeal has therefore lapsed.’
Ezulweni attorney Shafique Sarlie said he had lodged a writ of attachment of assets with the Johannesburg High Court registrar ‘and we expect it to be issued within days’.
The writ would authorise the Sheriff to attach removable goods from the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg to the value of R102,465,000 and sell them at public auction.
Sarlie said if the debt could not be met this way, he would launch liquidation proceedings against the ANC.
Two judgments were issued in Ezulweni’s favour: one was handed down in September 2020 and the other was an appeal heard by a full bench of three judges in the Johannesburg High Court in June 2022.
The latter ruling held that that on all the available evidence, the ANC was liable to pay the debt on the basis of a verbal agreement.
In March 2019, because of the substantial financial outlay, Ezulweni sought assurance from the ANC that the contract was valid.
The three judges refused the ANC leave to appeal against their order, but after its petition to the SCA, that court granted special leave to appeal.
[Photo: Christa Eybers/EWN]