ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo, left, and spokesperson Mafika Mndebele held a media briefing on Wednesday, at which the party said it would organise a massive march to fight economic sabotage by South African banks. The party wants the government to revoke the licences of any banks involved. | TUMI PAKKIES/ Independent Newspapers
Durban — The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has called for the cancellation of the licences of the banks that were involved in rand manipulation and overcharging black people.
In a media briefing the party held on Wednesday it said it will organise a “massive” march to fight the economic sabotage by the South African banks and demanded that the government revoke the licence of the banks involved.
Reacting to the latest revelations that Wesbank was charging clients based on their skin colour not on their creditworthiness and as well as the findings that banks had manipulated the rand, ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo called it an economic sabotage.
Mtolo vowed that together with the SACP, and Cosatu the ANC would march to the banks. Mtolo said the matter was robustly discussed by the party’s provincial executive committee (PEC) and resolved to act firmly against “this” economic sabotage.
“Accordingly, the ANC will embark on a march through Central Durban District to show public disapproval and to call for their banking licences to be revoked. The PEC further resolved to lobby the NEC (national executive committee) to introduce laws that will make corporate corruption punishable,” said Mtolo.
The party added that it was the vulnerable members of society and the working class that had been pushed to the conditions of squalor with no means of survival by the actions banking sector.
He added that the ANC and alliance partners have been inundated with calls from workers in different spheres of government and in the private sector who were drowning in debt. He said garnishee orders in the public service leave them with no salaries each month.
“Their cars and homes are being repossessed by the same banks. Millions of families supported by these workers are affected. Two days ago, the media published a story of a former WesBank employee detailing how the finance provider used a specific system to overcharge black clients.
“Apparently, this has been done purposely, to charge black clients more than their white counterparts, a clear sign of economic institutionalised racism. Every month we are also learning about the abuse of power and violation of media freedom by the international banks. We will march with alliance partners – SACP, Cosatu, Sanco and all progressive forces to end this economic sabotage,” said Mtolo.
Last week a whistle-blower who was a WesBank employee revealed that the finance provider used a specific system to overcharge black clients. He said this has been done purposely, to charge black clients more than their white counterparts. The employee, who asked not to be named, worked as a consultant in the IT department as a contractor between 2014 and 2018.
He told the Daily News’s sister publication, Sunday Independent that the bank used the acquisition system to determine the interest rates.
WesBank refuted the allegations.
“All vehicle finance applications are assessed on affordability and the customer’s credit profile by the National Credit Act. Credit scoring is conducted by independent credit bureaus and is not determined by our offices.”
The employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said this resulted in black clients being charged up to 18% compared to whites who were charged 10%.
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