WATCH| Five million people owed R47 billion in unpaid funds
Michael Marchant speaks to Sakina Kamwendo about the nearly R50 billion in Unpaid Pensions that belong to almost 5 million people in Southern Africa
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liberty amicus intervention
“On the 15th of April 2021, Liberty’s application to have 23 pension funds that were unlawfully cancelled reinstated was heard in the Gauteng High Court. Open Secrets and the Unpaid Benefits Campaign (UBC), represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), made an application to join the application as amicus curiae in the public interest. We argued that we should be admitted as amicus because some of the material facts that gave rise to Liberty’s application were missing and which were the subject of our investigation The Bottom Line, as well as because the right to social security of many pensioners and pension beneficiaries was implicated in this and other future reinstatement applications.
The Judge in the matter, Judge Janse van Nieuwenhuizen, made Liberty’s draft court order an order of the court, without addressing or deciding on Open Secrets’ and UBC’s amicus application. When we wrote to Judge van Nieuwenhuizen requesting a decision on our application, which was unopposed and for which we were advised by the court would be decided on the papers (i.e. not needing a formal appearance in court), the Judge’s response was “Although the application to intervene was uploaded on CaseLines, there was no appearance for the intervening party and Judge Janse van Nieuwenhuizen accordingly did not deal with the application”. We are deeply saddened by the Judges’s unwillingness to apply their mind to our application and submissions, which is a matter of public import.”
Open Secrets and UBC Heads of Argument
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Liberty's Application
Liberty Application
Founding Papers (22 July 2020)
Liberty Application
Founding Papers (22 July 2020)
Liberty Application
Liberty's Supplementary Founding Affidavit (3 March 2021)
Liberty Application
Draft Order
Open Secrets and UBC application for admission as amicus curiae
Open Secrets and UBC
Notice of Motion
Open Secrets and UBC
Conditional replying affidavit (7 April 2021)
Open Secrets and UBC
Founding affidavit (16 March 2021)
Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) Responses
FSCA Responses
Explanatory affidavit (30 March 2021)
FSCA Responses
Notice to abide (30 March 2021).
Newsletter |Holding Parliament Accountable for Unpaid Pensions
Nearly R50 billion. That is how much greedy and negligent pension funds and pension fund administrators owe to almost 5 million people in Southern Africa in unpaid pensions
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While politics continues to focus the public’s attention, many may be losing out on their pensions. The network is joined by Open Secrets’ Investigator Michael Marchant to discuss this matter. Courtesy #DStv403
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Stolen Pensions
Refilwe Moloto speaks to Open Secrets’ Researcher Michael Marchant this follows on the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s directive to all pension fund administrators to urgently get cancelled pension funds reinstated by the courts if they found that they had been erroneously deregistered before 1 April 2018.
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Correspondence with the FSCA
Correspondence with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority Our letters to and from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority regarding cancelled pensions.
