Africa-Press – Eswatini. Over 100 SWEET members who gathered at the Manzini Library yesterday morning for the verification of their accounts with the Trust, were shocked to discover what was left of their savings, following the collapse of the investment.
Some of the Swaziland Women Economic Empowerment Trust (SWEET) members said they would get E25 despite having invested over E500.
This comes after the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) notified the public that the liquidator, SAKIMO Group, invited investors/claimants to view their individual SWEET statements accounts.
Yesterday was the first day of the programme to verify the accounts of the claimants and was held at the Manzini Library.
Members who spent the day waiting to find out their dividends as part of the liquidation, who spoke on condition that their identities are withheld, said they were very disappointed to discover the money they are being given being far less than their initial investments with the Trust.
One of the women said her initial investment was E5 300, however, she learned with shock that she would receive E150.
Another claimed that she had invested E10 000 but much to her disappointment, she would only receive E800.
However, there were others who alleged that those who invested lesser amounts were informed that they would not get anything following the liquidation process.
Expressing their frustration, they complained that they had been made to waste the little they had left on yesterday’s exercise.
Many who were disappointed at what they stood to get from the liquidation said they were no longer interested in the possibility of them getting a payout with interest, but rather, were now only keen on receiving their initial investments.
“What we are advocating for now is for us to be given the money we had initially invested as well the sum of E500, which we paid in respect of the shares we bought from SWEET,” said one of the aggrieved members.
The women, among who were elderly, said they reported at the Manzini Library as early as 6am, however, they had still not made it into the library at around 2pm and claimed to not have been assisted, as the queue moved at a very slow pace.
They decried the fact that only one person was allowed to enter at a time, yet the majority of them were sickly and on medication and as such, could not afford to wait in long queues for a lengthy period.
“I almost fainted after waiting in the scorching sun for over four hours, given that I am diabetic person,” said one of the elderly people.
They also pointed out that some of them were from faraway places and this meant they would be stranded in Manzini, if they spent more time at the library.
Disclosed
One disclosed that she had asked from work to go to the library with the hope that she would quickly report back to work, however, she found herself stranded at the library for the day.
It was gathered that some of the members returned home without having viewed their statements as the process was stopped at 5pm.
Central Bank of Eswatini Head of Strategy and Communications, Mandla Luphondvo, explained that the bank issued an official announcement in local newspapers, informing the SWEET members where and when to report to view their statements, however, a majority of them decided to go to the Manzini Library when in actual fact they were not supposed to go there according to the official announcement.
Investors
On the issue of unsatisfactory balances, he clarified that first of all this exercise was mandated by the law that it should be carried out before payments to the investors were made.
Luphondvo mentioned that this was just an opportunity for the members to view their statements and balances.
He said if there were any grievances and discontentment’s pertaining to the available balances, the members would be afforded an opportunity to lodge their complaints, however, they would be required to submit proof, justifying their claims.
“If there were any mishaps after the proof had been submitted, they would then fix them,” explained Luphondvo.
He said after the viewing exercise, their balances had been carried out and there would be a final round at the High Court, before payments were made, where the investors would be afforded an opportunity to state their cases, if they had any.
He did, however, clarify that it was important for the members to understand that SWEET had already been liquidated.
This, he said, meant that the bank was now supposed to share the funds among the investors, which were available when the organisation was liquidated.
According to Luphondvo, this meant that it was possible for the investors not to receive their initial investments.
Instead, he said it was possible that the investors would receive a proportion of the available funds (those that were available when the company was liquidated).
He made an example that in other liquidated companies, the investors ended up not receiving a cent.
SWEET Microfinance (PTY) LTD was established in April 2015, registered under certificate of incorporation No. 2235/2014. It was established as one of the national economic empowerment initiatives that emanated from the Eswatini Women’s Decade Plan of Action of 2010.
Findings of an investigation conducted by the Central Bank and Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) on the affairs of the SWEET were that criminal activities were allegedly committed by the management of SWEET Microfinance subsequent to an outcry by members who, for years, had been demanding in vain that their monies be paid back.
Over the years, whenever the aggrieved members tried to pursue the matter, various reasons were allegedly given as to why the matter should be dropped.
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