Joburg High Court's R98m warrant against Mafube municipality set aside

Free State court must hear pension fund contravention case

- By Boitumelo Kgobotlo

The Johannesburg High Court has set aside a R98-million warrant of execution against the troubled Mafube Local Municipality in Free State.

The case stemmed from pension fund contributions that were deducted from employees’ salaries but not paid to the South African Local Authorities Pension Fund (SALPF).

The municipality defaulted on these payments over time, forcing the pension fund to approach the Pension Funds Adjudicator, who ruled in August 2020 that the municipality had contravened Section i3A of the Pension Funds Act.

The municipality was then ordered to pay R98-million.

In February 2023, the Sheriff of Heilbron acted on the writ and attached the municipality’s bank accounts held with Absa, First National Bank and Standard Bank. But the municipality challenged this writ on the basis of jurisdiction and won the case.