Maanda vows to rally masses to save VBS
Prominent businessman says bank will bounce back
Former MTN managing director and SA Post Office CEO Maanda Manyatshe has vowed to breathe life back into VBS Mutual Bank with input from what he called the “black masses”.
“I am determined to get the governance right if there were lapses,” he said on Facebook yesterday. Manyatshe is one of the black business personalities who have expressed shock and disappointment at the prospects of the VBS, the only blackowned bank closing down.
Manyatshe said he had no doubt that the bank, which was put under curatorship on Sunday, would bounce back.
“We will review the board, the management and we will ensure that we infuse the critical expertise required ... but we cannot allow this bank to collapse ... period. Let’s spend our energy and resources in building a lasting legacy, our own legacy,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Thohoyandou branch of VBS operated smoothly yesterday.
VBS client Thingahangwi Bulala told Sowetan she has been using the bank for five years.
“This morning I was here to get my savings and the service was as usual. I’m aware that the South African Reserve Bank appointed new management. As long as the bank is not closing down, I don’t see any problem because I will get my money,” she said.
But the co-ordinator of Thulamela Business Forum Justice Nedzamba felt
‘‘ Only bank that understands the challenges of rural black people
the curatorship decision was a step backward for black-owned businesses.
“We recently met the bank’s management in an effort to get our over 100 members to start using VBS for their business accounts. We are of the view that this is the only bank which understands the challenges of rural black people,” Nedzamba said.
The bank shot into the public eye after it gave a R7.8-million loan to former president Jacob Zuma to repay his upgrades to his private Nkandla homestead.