Polokwane - Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha says his province is lobbying for the bankrupt Venda Building Society bank to be saved.
Mathabatha said on Wednesday that his provincial government was conducting a forensic investigation into the VBS scandal.
In the report, which was commissioned by the SA Reserve Bank, it was found that 53 people received various illegal payments from VBS over a number of years.
The payments amounted to R 1.89 billion.
These illegal payments had placed depositors’ monies at risk.
Mathabatha’s calls for the bank to be saved were contrary to a number of views.
Advocate Terry Motau, who headed up the investigation into the bank, said in the report titled “The Great Bank Heist”, that it was unlikely that the bank could be saved.
However, opposition parties like the EFF have been making similar calls to Mathabatha. The party has been calling for the bank to be saved sighting African Bank as an example of a bank that was saved when it faced bankruptcy and closure.
Pressure has been mounting for authorities to investigate the matter and arrest all those who have been implicated.
Mathabatha said several chief financial officers (CFOs) and municipal managers who ran municipalities that lost money to VBS have been suspended.
He promised more accountability saying more CFOs and managers would be held accountable.
He said the province was working hard to help municipalities that were struggling financially.
Mathabatha faced questions on what the ANC would do with its individuals who had been implicated in the VBS looting.
Two ANC officials in the province, Vhembe Mayor Florence Radzilani and ANC provincial treasurer Dan Msiza, have been implicated in the report.
Mathabatha said Luthuli House would indicate to the province what would happen with its officials.
This is while the party’s integrity committee recommended that officials implicated in the scandal should step aside.
This recommendation was left up to the national executive committee (NEC) which in turn passed it on to the national working committee to make the final decision.