Ezulweni Investment has given the African National Congress (ANC) until December 12 to settle the R102 million debt issue. According to the company, this comes after the party veterans reached out to them to resolve the matter.

“Ezulweni has decided to ponder and pause in its intention to proceed with the liquidation proceedings against the ANC.

“Ezulweni has decided to put on hold its intention to proceed with the liquidation proceedings until the close of business on December 12, 2023,” it said in a statement.

The KwaZulu-Natal-based printing and marketing company said this would afford party loyalists an opportunity to resolve the dispute or take cession of the debt to save the ANC from such fate.

Reports alleged that President Cyril Ramaphosa is among those who want to settle the dispute.

Ezulweni claimed that the ANC owed them about R102 million for their branded goods such as banners and posters it ordered and received during the 2019 election campaign.

This resulted in the two parties being involved in a court battle for almost four years over who was in the wrong or not in the situation.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Renash Ramdas said the company would then announce its further intentions and plans for the recovery of its long outstanding debt after the set date.

However, despite the halt and extended deadline of the payment, Ramdas said they will still forge its vehement opposition to the application brought by the ANC to the Constitutional Court.

“As stated before, the application is without merit or any substance whatsoever … Ezulweni will in due course file its opposing affidavit challenging the application in which opposing papers will speak for themselves,” he said.

The ANC has not said anything about Ezulweni’s recent statement, but on Wednesday, the party’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula denied that his party had entered into a deal with the company to provide services.

He asserted that there was no way he would not have seen such a deal worth millions for only posters and banners.

"This R102 million is a lot of money and Ezulwini wants to liquidate the party. They never rendered service," he said.

He added that the deal was fraudulent and alleged that the company had bribed two of its staffers.

The ANC has taken the matter to the Constitutional Court to try to suspend the lower courts’ ruling to have it pay the R102 million with costs.

kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za

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