POLL | Do you believe Simelane took a loan from VBS adviser because she did not have many options?

10 September 2024 - 12:47
By TIMESLIVE
Justice and constitutional development minister Thembi Simelane.
Image: Supplied Justice and constitutional development minister Thembi Simelane.

Despite being a mayor in 2016, justice and constitutional development minister Thembi Simelane believed she did not have any option but to take a loan from Gundo Wealth Solutions, which is implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, to start a business in 2016. 

She was mayor of Polokwane when she took the loan from the company, which brokered investments on behalf of VBS and the municipality. The municipality invested R349m in the bank. 

In a recent interview she cited high interest rates to have been one of the reasons she decided to take a loan from Gundo rather than commercial banks. She said it was difficult to get a loan from commercial banks as an African person.

“It is difficult for a person who looks like me to get a loan in the South African economy. 

“It's difficult to get a loan and start a business as an African child without any form of assistance. There are so many brilliant dreams and ideas that black young people have, but there's no financing for them,” she said in an interview with eNCA on Sunday. 

She said she paid back the loan in full with interest in 2020.

“I made the first payment on that day, October 9 2020. And again on November 12 and the final one, totalling about R849,000 with interest calculated at about 11.2% or so at the time. So in excess of about R250,000 was the interest paid to Gundo,” she said.

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