Bank which lent Zuma R7.8m admits to cash withdrawal issues at Thohoyandou branch

07 December 2016 - 19:41 By Ernest Mabuza
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VBS Mutual Bank confirmed on Wednesday that issues were being experienced by its customers relating to payment of cash for large withdrawals at the Thohoyandou branch over the past few days.

The relatively unknown bank came into the public spotlight in September when President Jacob Zuma announced he had obtained a loan from the bank to pay R7.8 million as ordered by the Constitutional Court for non-security upgrades at his private Nkandla homestead.

There had been public complaints from the bank’s customers in the past few days for failure to withdraw the money they had been saving for the Christmas season.

“This stemmed from logistical issues experienced by our cash management security supplier‚ Fidelity Cash Solutions‚ which led to delays in delivery of physical cash to the said branch.

“This mishap resulted from shortage of cash stock in the depot that services the northern region‚” the bank said in a statement.

The bank said it had been working very closely with Fidelity Cash Solutions to resolve the issues.

“We confirm that the Thohoyandou branch operations were restored back to normal by yesterday afternoon.”

The bank apologised to all its customers who had been inconvenienced.

It said it had taken all necessary steps to avoid a recurrence in order to meet their cash requirements during this festive season.

The bank‚ according to its website‚ has three other branches in Sibasa‚ Makhado and Johannesburg.

 

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