ANC, Ezulweni Investments reach settlement over R102 million debt dispute

Following a lengthy legal battle, the ANC has resolved its R102 million debt dispute with Ezulweni Investments.

In a brief statement on Friday, the governing party confirmed that it has settled out of court with the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)-based marketing company.

“The matter has been resolved in the best interest of both parties,” read the party’s statement.

It was announced on 12 December that the ANC and Ezulweni Investments entered settlement negotiations over the R102 million owed to the company by the governing party.

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A week before the negotiations the sheriff of the Gauteng High Court attempted to seize ANC assets, but was prevented from entering the party’s headquarters, Albert Luthuli House, in Johannesburg.

The Citizen previously reported that the sheriff arrived at the ANC’s headquarters just after 8am.

However, security closed the roller door and the sheriff left empty-handed about 20 minutes later.

Legal battle

Ezulweni Investments had supplied the ANC with election posters and banners for the 2019 elections, but never received payment for services rendered to the party.

This sparked a long-standing litigation between the two, which nearly reached the highest court in the land, the Constitution Court (ConCourt).

While the ANC suffered defeat twice in 2020 and 2022, when the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ruled in Ezulweni’s favour, the party argued it did not have an agreement with the company and that staffers involved in the deal had done so without the party’s knowledge.

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After the ANC lodged appeal after appeal in its bid to overturn the court judgments, a writ of execution allowing the sheriff to attach goods belonging to the party was eventually issued in May 2023.

The party later approached the Supreme Court of Appeal, but lost after the appellant court in its 24 November ruling rejected the ANC’s assertions that the contract with Ezulweni was fraudulent.

As a result of the courts siding with Ezulweni, the ANC’s outstanding debt surpassed R150 million due to accumulating interest.

The ANC then filed papers with the ConCourt before the settlement negotiations started.