Africa-Press – Eswatini. Seventy-six people who had invested in Ecsponent Eswatini Limited have died, mainly due to stress-related illnesses emanating from effects of the E431 million loss.
This was revealed by ESW Investment Group (ESWIG) Investor Relations Committee (IRC) during an update meeting where the situation was described as hopeless and very frustrating.
The committee said this was especially because no positive response had been forthcoming either from government, Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), Attorney General’s office and Director of Public Prosecution or any other relative institution, which could assist in speedy recovery of the funds.
IRC member, Michelle Lloyd- Ferreira, disclosed that apart from the 76 investors who had already passed on, some were bedridden after suffering a stroke while others continue to languish in hospitals while their dependants live in abject poverty after losing all their income.
“We lost everything. It is for this reason that we are making a desperate plea for assistance from government. There are 76 people who have already died, others are sick and in dire need of any form of financial assistance,” said Lloyd- Ferreira during the meeting convened at Mountain View yesterday. Mlimi Mamba, who is one of the investors, said taking money from retirees pushed them to suffering from strokes and other severe health conditions.
Mamba said it was high time that a long lasting solution was undertaken by the State and all concerned regulatory bodies.
Sydney Kunene, who represents certain churches that also invested in Ecsponent, said the situation was bad because some of the investors were impoverished Christians who offered their offerings with the hope that they would be able to make a living from the dividends.
“We really need a lifesaver because the situation has already got out of hand.
We regard government as our father who is supposed to take care of our welfare. It is in this spirit that we kindly appeal for urgent assistance,” said Kunene.
The 1 138 Emaswati who lost their investments called upon government to establish a fund to help them recover their monies.
In their plea, which was made by IRC Chairman, Billie Dlamini, they said the money lost warranted to be treated as a national issue due to the magnitude of the amount and number of people involved.
Dlamini said by virtue of the fact that they invested in a company that had been vetted and approved by the FSRA, which ought to have done due diligence, government has to act since it had a responsibility to protect the interest of Emaswati against all odds.
“We are citizens of Eswatini.
Therefore, government has a responsibility to protect us just like it does to everyone in the kingdom, in the same way that it set up a fund after the catastrophic political events of June 2021.
We would greatly appreciate it if government would also find a similar way for affected members to be assisted,” said Dlamini.
The IRC elected by investors in June 2022 has been working diligently to understand the nature of issues, which led to the situation that they found themselves in a position where investments made by Emaswati were lost.
In total, the scope of the Ecsponent/ESW Investment Group (ESWIG) challenge was calculated at E431.2 million consisting of the following:
n E406 million liability related to Linked Loan Products invested from 2014 to December, 2021, inclusive of interest earned up to 31 December, 2021
n E3.6 million liability related to the dividends owed to Linked Loan Products as at 31 December, 2021
n E3 million related to investments under the Collective Investment Scheme as at 31 October, 2022
n E9.5 million related to the Medium Term Note (MTN) Programme as at 31 October, 2022 and
n E9.1 million operational debts owed to various creditors.
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