INLSA
Businessman Jabulani Mabaso, who allegedly defrauded the provincial education department of about R200 million, is embroiled in a court battle to stop six of his properties from being sold
Businessman Jabulani Mabaso, who allegedly defrauded the provincial Education Department of about R200 million, is embroiled in a court battle to stop six of his properties, including shares in the five-star Fairways Golf Lodge in Mount Edgecombe, from being sold.
The properties, which are being restrained and are under the control of court-appointed curator Trevor White, are apparently in a state of neglect. This was causing their market value to drop, White said.
White brought an application in the Pietermaritzburg High Court yesterday for permission to sell these properties.
Altogether, 10 properties had originally been restrained, as they were believed to be the proceeds of crime. Three were sold in terms of an agreement between Mabaso and White.
Mabaso was now only agreeing to the sale of one of the remaining seven properties, as it was vacant and not generating an income.
Representing White, advocate Mark Harcourt told the court that maintaining the properties was becoming too expensive.
He said that, although the properties were under his control, according to the restraining order, Mabaso was supposed to be maintaining them, but was not. Every month, he was supposed to submit to the curator a list of expenditure for all the properties, but had not done so.
In an affidavit, White said all the properties should be sold and the proceeds should be invested at the best interest rates, pending the finalisation of Mabaso’s trial.
Mabaso has been charged in his personal capacity – and as a director of |his company, Indiza Infrastructure Solutions – along with Pam Bosman-Zulu, the Education Department’s ex-chief financial officer, with fraud and corruption.
Indiza allegedly submitted invoices with inflated prices to the department by submitting fictitious purchase orders and invoices for goods not supplied.
The trial has been set down for early next year.
Yesterday, Mabaso, through his advocate, William Mokhari, insisted he was maintaining the properties.
Mokhari asked the court: “Why is there such a hurry to dispose of the assets he [the curator] is not even maintaining? They have not made out a case for the sale of the properties, except the one that is free [vacant].”
Judge Fikile Mokgohloa said her understanding had been that the curator was meant to maintain the properties, and that there was R2.3m of Mabaso’s money – which had also been subject to the restraining order – in the curator’s account to do so.
“I am just told now that he [Mabaso] is paying for everything… what is the curator doing with the money?” she questioned.
When Harcourt was asked to specify what the curator was paying for, he cited “security” at the properties as an example.
“This is very disturbing,” responded the judge. She also said later that the State could not restrain properties and then expect the owner to maintain them.
The judge adjourned the case, as she could not deal with it “piecemeal”. She asked Mabaso and the curator to provide the court with records of what they were paying for, saying she needed to see these before granting an order.
Mabaso had also brought an application for funds to be released for him to pay for his legal defence, and the curator agreed to give him R1m. However, this agreement was not endorsed by the judge, as both the applications were adjourned until December.
