Durban – The ANC Youth League national leadership has written to President Jacob Zuma demanding that the government withdraw all its accounts from Absa, while its eThekwini structure is lobbying for young people to do the same.
The league’s call follows recent revelations that the bank had illegally received a R2.25 billion bailout from the apartheid government.
The league’s national spokesman Mlondi Mkhize said on Wednesday the league would also embark on a campaign to force the bank to repay the money.
The Absa scandal had been revealed in a leaked public protector’s preliminary report.
“We will also lobby the government to move their accounts to Post Bank which should be operating as a state-owned bank,” said Mkhize.
He said the Absa scandal was an example of how the apartheid government had collaborated with the South African Reserve Bank in looting state funds to benefit white capitalists.
“The independence of the Reserve Bank has played a huge role as a facilitator of criminality as evidenced by this Absa matter.
“This also proves that the independence of the Reserve Bank should come to an end as they collude to collapse and milk this country of billions,” he said.
The ANCYL in eThekwini said on Wednesday it was already talking to young people to urge them not to bank with Absa, and those who are already clients to close their accounts.
Regional secretary Thinta Cibane said the league in eThekwini was taking the allegations against Absa very seriously.
“We are speaking to the people of our region, and we are discouraging them because we don’t want our people to use the bank that steals from this country.
“We call upon young people considering banking with Absa to reconsider at least for the time being until this matter has been brought to its conclusion,” said Cibane.
He said the government should speed up in starting a state-owned bank for people to invest their hard-earned money.
Cibane also lashed out at former public protector Thuli Madonsela for prioritising the release of the Nkandla report.
“We wonder how the theft of more than R2billion by the banks would be less important or urgent than some investigation of maladministration of R250 million.
“We wonder, when advocate Thuli Madonsela prioritised her investigations, whose interests was she serving, because it was definitely not those of the public,” he said.
In a statement posted on its website, Absa denied that it had directly benefited from the state.
It said the SA Reserve Bank had bailed out Bankorp in 1985 before it was bought by Absa.
“Absa acquired Bankorp in April 1992 at fair value. All the obligations pertaining to the SA Reserve Bank’s assistance were discharged in full by October 1995,” read the statement.
The bank said it would make submissions to the public protector to correct “several factual and legal inaccuracies” contained in the report.
“This will be done on or before the deadline of February 28, 2017,” the statement said.