Take ombud to court

The Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) was established in terms of the Act of 2011 as an alternative dispute resolution body to resolve administrative disputes in community schemes, including sectional title schemes and homeowners’ associations.

The CSOS is financed through levies paid by sectional title schemes, homeowners’ associations, etcetera, and a government grant. In terms of costs, it is a new burden that has been imposed on well-run body corporates that seldom, if ever, require dispute resolution services. In an average-sized body corporate of about 30 flats, the extra burden is about R40 a month per flat or R1 200 a month for the block of flats.

As owners of flats who pay levies through their body corporates, we are gravely concerned about the reported investment of R80-million of CSOS funds into VBS Mutual Bank, which is now under the curatorship of the South African Reserve Bank. It is further reported that R20million was invested with Absa bank through a third party, Gundo Wealth Solutions, without the knowledge of the board or the minister of human settlements.

It is surprising that within a few years the CSOS has accumulated funds of this magnitude and invested a substantial amount of money without proper authorisation and due diligence. As this scheme falls under the purview of the minister of human settlements, we stakeholders would like to know from the honourable minister, Nomaindia Mfeketo, the following:

accumulated by the CSOS since its inception in 2011?;

been provided by levies and government grants respectively?;

how many staff are employed in its branches and the salary levels of the top executives;

how they were appointed and what benefits they receive in attending

board meetings;

adjudicated and the outcomes of its adjudications;

in place to monitor the quality of dispute resolution and adjudication offered by CSOS?; and

against those who acted without proper authorisation in investing the R80-million with VBS and R20million with Absa?

It is noted that Mfeketo has appointed an independent investigator to look into the affairs of CSOS. Is this going far enough? Should the minister not suspend the executive officers and board, and appoint an administrator while the investigation proceeds? Such action would signal whether the Cabinet is serious about rooting out the pervasive corruption that has blighted our society in recent years; those responsible for squandering R100-million of public resources should be criminally prosecuted and the monies recovered. —