VIP Security employees to wait longer for benefits
MBABANE – The about 900 employees of the liquidated VIP Security Services will have to wait much longer for their terminal benefits.
This is because the liquidation process of the company has still not been finalised.
The liquidator, Senior Lawyer Jose Rodriguez of Rodriguez and Associates said yesterday, that the company was still trying to claim monies owed by VIP debtors.
The liquidator was responding to questions from this publication, following that some former VIP workers said they were now impatient because they had waited for their terminal benefits for over a year.
³8nfortunately, there is not enough money to pay all of them. We are still collecting money from companies that owe VIP,” he said.
Asked when exactly the former employees should expect payment, the liquidator said he could not respond to the question with certainty.
³This will all depend on the ability to reclaim all the monies owed to the company. Some of it may require court processes,” he said.
He declined to state the amount expected or still being owed, saying such was part of the ongoing process of liquidation.
Meanwhile, a former employee of VIP registered frustration that no one was forthcoming with information on the payment of terminal benefits.
Terminated
He said some of the workers were absorbed by Stallone Security Services, while others looked for alternative jobs.
%ut, those clients who terminated contracts with VIP affected the guards, most of whom found themselves unemployed.
³One of the questions I ask myself is why the uniform we wear still reflects VIP, yet that company was liquidated. Even when we ask questions on VIP, they tell us that no one will answer us because VIP closed down.”
They also said they gathered that before the company went into liquidation, it had not paid provident fund contributions on behalf of the workers.
The managers of Stallion Security declined to comment on anything touching on VIP and referred all questions to the liquidator.
Meanwhile, this newspaper reported that VIP Security Protection Services (PTY) Limited had been purchased by one of the giant South African companies, Stallion Security Services, which would absorb all of the employees.
Stallion Security was founded in 1991 and has organically grown into a multi-faceted corporate organisation.
It is one of the largest companies in South Africa that provides safety and protective equipment which keeps work sites secure and helps companies ensure full compliance with safety regulations.
The sale of VIP Security Protection Services (PTY) Limited, which is one of the oldest and most reputable security firms in the country, was confirmed by Rodriguez.
³We did our utmost best to ensure that there were no job losses as that was the major concern. The company which took over the business, Stallion Security Services, will absorb all the employees save for a few who did not take the offer,” said Rodriguez last year.
He further highlighted that during the liquidation process, the utmost concern was job losses, which they managed to avert.
Unpaid
The major cause of the company¶s financial difficulty relates to a dispute it had with the Eswatini Revenue Services (ERS). ERS imposed a liability for E37 958 159.45 in respect of unpaid VAT. This was disclosed by the management of the company when it motivated the application to be placed under liquidation.
A company usually applies for voluntary winding-up if its liabilities are more than its assets. This essentially means that the company cannot operate its business function anymore and can apply to be winded ±up (liquidated).
On 'ecember 14, 2021, the security firm addressed a letter to ERS seeking to enter into a payment arrangement for the settlement of this debt and attempted to make payment thereof. However, ERS rejected that proposal and instead reportedly placed what the company described as stringent repayment terms that made it impossible for it to trade.
As a result of the company¶s failure to address the concern, it was unable to obtain tax compliance certificate, which in turn meant that it was unable to tender for any work. The company was unable to meet its financial obligations and debts as and when these arose.
The µartificial claim¶ of ERS reportedly created an insolvent state of affairs.
Statements for the year ended June 30, 2021, revealed inter alia that the total current and non-current assets of the security firm amounted to E11 294 192, while the liabilities amounted to E30 990 000.38.