Deputy finance minister Mondli Gungubele has rejected calls for the state to rescue the troubled VBS Mutual Bank.
Some party MPs told Gungubele during the ANC caucus meeting on Thursday that the state should mobilise financial resources to save the bank following revelations that it had been looted by executives and politicians to the tune of almost R2bn.
Insiders said those who pushed for a VBS rescue package included communications deputy minister Pinky Kekana and labour portfolio committee chair Lemias Mashile. They argued that as a “caring organisation”, the ANC-led government should “save VBS”.
Gungubele told the Sunday Times that national treasury was not swayed by the argument that VBS must be saved in the way it did with African Bank in 2016.
“What costs were incurred by government on the African Bank situation? It’s zero. But on the VBS it is R336m,” said Gungubele.
He said the decision of whether to wound up VBS or not, which is under curatorship, would be taken once the liquidation process is concluded.
Kekana and Mashile both refused to speak to the Sunday Times about the matter, also saying caucus discussions were confidential.
Read the full story in the Sunday Times.
