Case Law[2022] ZAGPPHC 492South Africa
Eskom Pension and Provident Fund v Molefe and Others (93895/2019) [2022] ZAGPPHC 492 (4 July 2022)
Headnotes
Summary: Court order – compliance with – repayment of benefits received as a result of unlawful membership of pension scheme – quantification.
Judgment
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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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## Eskom Pension and Provident Fund v Molefe and Others (93895/2019) [2022] ZAGPPHC 492 (4 July 2022)
Eskom Pension and Provident Fund v Molefe and Others (93895/2019) [2022] ZAGPPHC 492 (4 July 2022)
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sino date 4 July 2022
HIGH
COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA)
CASE
NO: 93895/2019
REPORTABLE:
NO.
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES: NO
REVISED.
DATE
:
4 JULY 2022
In
the matter between:
ESKOM
PENSION AND PROVIDENT FUND
Applicant
and
BRIAN
MOLEFE
First
Respondent
ESKOM
HOLDINGS SOC LIMITED
Second Respondent
THE
COMMISSIONER FOR SOUTH AFRICAN
REVENUE
SERVICE
Third Respondent
Summary:
Court order – compliance with – repayment of benefits
received as a result of
unlawful membership of pension scheme –
quantification.
ORDER
In the premises, the
following order is made:
1.
The Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (the
Fund) is directed to repay to Eskom Holdings Soc Ltd (Eskom) the
following amounts:
1.1
The amount of R 30 103 915, 62
being the amount found by the full court on 25 January 2018 to have
been unlawfully paid
to the Fund, together with interest at the
prescribed mora rate from date of the unlawful payment to date of
repayment thereof.
1.2
The amount of R 1 345 461, 79,
constituting Eskom’s employer contributions on behalf of Mr
Molefe (inclusive of
Fund interest less applicable administration
fees) together with further mora interest from 31 October 2019 to
date of repayment
thereof.
1.3
The amount of R 727 547, 64,
constituting the total of Mr Molefe’s own monthly pension
contributions (inclusive of Fund
interest less administration fees)
together with further mora interest from 31 October 2019 to date of
payment thereof.
1.4
The amount of R 123 332,98,
constituting Mr Molefe’s performance bonus pension
contributions (inclusive of Fund interest
less administration costs)
together with further mora interest from 31 October 2019 to date of
payment thereof.
2.
Eskom is directed to pay Mr Molefe the
post-tax value of the amounts referred to in paragraphs 1.3 and 1.4
above.
3.
Mr Molefe is ordered to repay the Fund the
amounts of R 7 981 727, 94 and R 2 003 812, 70
together with mora
interest thereon from 31 October 2019 to date of
repayment.
4.
The Fund is entitled to set-off against the
above amount due by Mr Molefe, the nett balance of the Transnet
Retirement Fund lumpsum
received from or on behalf of Mr Molefe, upon
receipt of a tax directive from the South African Revenue Service in
respect of the
Tax payable on such amount, inclusive of accruals
thereto subsequent to 31 October 2019.
5.
The payment referred to in paragraph 3
above shall be made within 10 days after the set-off contemplated in
paragraph 4 has occurred.
6.
Mr Molefe is ordered to pay the costs of
the Fund and of SARS, such costs to include the costs of two counsel
where employed.
J
U D G M E N T
This
matter has been heard in open court and is otherwise disposed of in
terms of the Directives of the Judge President of this
Division. The
judgment and order are accordingly published and distributed
electronically.
DAVIS,
J
[1]
Introduction
On
25 January 2018 a full court of this Division declared that “
any
payment or sum of money
” received by Mr Brain Molefe under
“
any purported pension agreement
” between him and
Eskom Holdings Soc Limited (Eskom) is invalid. Mr Molefe was ordered
to repay “
such amounts
” within ten days from date
of that order. Four years later, repayment still hasn’t been
done and Mr Molefe claims that
there is a factual dispute about the
exact amount to be repaid.
[2]
The 2018 order of this court
2.1
The full court of this Division dealt with
three separate but consolidated applications. These applications
followed upon the release
of a report by the then Public Protector
containing damaging allegations against Mr Molefe of abusing his
position at Eskom to
benefit “the Gupta family” and
businesses under their control.
2.2
The release of the report prompted Mr
Molefe to resign and seek early retirement and to become a member of
Parliament shortly thereafter,
representing the African National
Congress. As part of his early retirement, Mr Molefe elected to
receive one-third of his pension
benefits as a lumpsum. These
benefits were created as a result of a payment of some R30,1 million
made by Eskom to the Eskom Pension
and Provident Fund (the Fund).
2.3
The full court found that, at the time of
Mr Molefe’s resignation, he was employed on a fixed term
contract and therefore
disqualified from participating in the Fund.
The full court further found that “
the
decision by Eskom to waive penalties and buy Mr Molefe extra 13 years
of service totalling R30,1 million after only 15 months
service at
the age of 50 stretches incredulity and is unlawful for want of
compliance with the rules of the fund. What is most
disturbing is the
total lack of dignity and shame by people in leadership positions who
abuse public funds with naked greed for
their own benefit without a
moment’s consideration of the circumstances of fellow citizens
who live in absolute squalor throughout
the country with no basic
services
”.
2.4
Having thereafter found that “
the
reinstatement of Mr Molefe as Group Chief Executive Officer at Eskom
is at variance with the principle of legality
”
the full court made the following order:
“
a
The decision taken by the Board of Eskom in November 2016 to accept
Mr Molefe’s “early
retirement” proposal is reviewed
and set aside.
b.
The decision made by the Minister to appoint and reinstate Mr Molefe
to the position of Group
Chief Executive Officer at Eskom is reviewed
and set aside.
c.
It is declared that any payment or sum of money received by Mr Molefe
under any purported
pension agreement by him and Eskom is invalid and
Mr Molefe is ordered to repay such amounts within ten days from date
of this
order.
d.
Mr Molefe is ordered to pay the costs, including the costs of two
counsel where employed
”
.
2.5
Mr Molefe unsuccessfully applied for leave
to appeal to both the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional
Court. The application
for leave to appeal to the Constitutional
Court was refused on 8 August 2019.
2.6
On his calculations, Mr Molefe contends
that the nett amount that he has to repay is R 1 490 920,
88. To date, even this
amount has not been paid. The order of the
full court has therefore not yet been satisfied or complied with.
[3]
The Fund’s calculation of the
amount due and the evaluation thereof:
3.1
Prior to joining Eskom, Mr Molefe was the
Chief Executive Officer of Transnet Soc Ltd (Transnet) and he
contributed to the Transnet
Retirement Fund (the TRF). On the
incorrect assumption that he was eligible to be a member of the Fund,
Mr Molefe transferred the
lumpsum he received from the TRF upon
leaving Transnet, to the Fund who thereafter held and invested it on
Mr Molefe’s behalf.
3.2
The TRF lumpsum transferred to the Fund in
October 2015 was R 4 281 699, 87. On the date of Mr
Molefe’s resignation
from Eskom an amount of R 778 949, 15
had accrued on this amount, totaling R 5 060 649, 02. At Mr
Molefe’s
election, he chose to receive one-third of this, being
R 1 686 883, 01. The taxable portion thereof, being
R337 720,
86 has been paid by the Fund to SARS. The balance of
the TRF lumpsum still held by the Fund, has until 31 October 2019,
being the
operative date used by the parties in the papers for
purposes of calculation, accrued further growth in the amount of R
769 127,
11, leaving a total amount then held in favour of Mr
Molefe of R 4 169 893, 12.
3.3
The Fund has no objection to the set-off of
this amount against Mr Molefe’s indebtedness to the Fund and,
based on the agreements
reached regarding the calculations made by
the actuary employed by Mr Molefe and subsequently contained in joint
minutes of the
actuaries employed, neither has Mr Molefe.
3.4
However, once set-off occurs and the TRF
balance is to be released for purposes thereof, further tax thereon
will be due to SARS,
for which purposes it will be obliged to issue a
tax directive as contemplated in the Tax Administration Act 28 of
2011 (the TAA).
3.5
In addition to the TRF lumpsum and the
R30,1 million subsequently received from Eskom as found in the full
court judgment, the Fund
also received “pension contributions”
from Eskom. These comprised of both employer and employee
contributions.
3.6
The employer pension contributions amount
to R 993 795. 86 which has accrued interest in the amount of
R351 665, 93 as
at 31 October 2019, totaling R 1 345 461,
79. This is an amount which is to be repaid by the Fund to Eskom.
3.7
Eskom also paid R 537 387, 13 on
behalf of Mr Molefe as his “contribution” to his
purported pension benefits. This
amount, together with interest
thereon in the amount of R 190 160, 51 as at 31 October 2019,
totaling R 727 547, 64 must
be repaid to Eskom, who will then be
obliged to withhold (and pay over to SARS) a tax portion calculated
on this amount as part
of Mr Molefe’s gross remuneration. The
balance must be paid by Eskom to Mr Molefe.
3.8
I interject to point out that Eskom, being
a party to this litigation, has delivered a notice to abide this
court’s decision.
3.9
Excluding the TRF payments, pursuant to the
pension arrangement which the full court has found to be unlawful, Mr
Molefe received
an amount of R 7 989 819, 73 in February
2017. Of this amount, R 1 619 480, 13 was paid to SARS,
resulting
in Mr Molefe being paid R 6 370 339, 60 which
should not have been paid to him. Together with interest of R 1
426 227,
24 calculated up to 31 October 2019, this amounts to R
7 796 566, 84.
3.10
In addition, Mr Molefe received a 3%
enhancement on his pension from the Fund in an amount of R 51 784,
20. Together with interest
of R 11 593, 74, this totalled R
63 377, 94 as at 31 October 2019. This amount, as will be shown
later, did not attract
additional tax.
3.11
In addition to the amounts mentioned in
paragraphs 3.6 and 3.7 above, Eskom also paid performance bonus
pension contributions of
R 113 019, 57 to the Fund. These will
have to be repaid to Eskom. However, as at the date of Mr Molefe’s
purported retirement,
growth on this amount was R 4 751, 26. Mr
Molefe received a third thereof in the gross amount of R 39 256,
94 of which
R 21 482, 16 was paid to him and R 17 774, 78
was paid to SARS. Together with interest on the amount of R 21 482,16
as at 31 October 2019, the amount to be repaid by Mr Molefe is R
26 291, 71.
3.12
Prior to the findings of the full court,
the Fund has also paid Mr Molefe an amount of R 95 491,45 by way
of monthly pension
payments. The actuaries have in their joint
minutes agreed that repayment of this money is also due by Mr Molefe.
3.13
To sum up then, in respect of the amounts
paid to Mr Molefe by the Fund, they amount, together with interest as
at 31 October 2019,
to the following:
-
R 7 796 566, 84 (par 3.9 above)
-
R 63 377, 94 (par 3.10 above)
-
R 26 291, 71 (par 3.11above)
-
R 95 491, 45
(par
3.12 above)
R 7 981 727, 94
3.14
The summary of the tax paid by the
Fund to SARS is reflected in the following table, which also indicate
the interest calculated
thereon up to 31 October 2019:
Component
Lumpsum
Proportionate tax Fund interest on tax Tax
and fund interest
TRF/lumpsum
R1 686 883.01
R337 720.86
R75 610.83
R413 331.69
Performance
bonus
R39 256.94
R17 774.78
R3 979.52
R21 754.30
Enhancement
R51 784.20
Nil
Nil
nil
Statutory
lumpsum R7 989 819.73
R1 619 480.13
R362 578. 27
R1 982 058.40
Total
R9 767 743.88 R1 974 975.77
R442 168.62
R2 417 144.39
3.15
In respect of the R 413 331, 69, being
the tax plus interest component in respect of the TRF lumpsum, the
Fund argued that
SARS “may retain” this amount, subject
to further directives being issued once the position is
“regularised”.
This will occur once the set-off referred
to in paragraphs 3.3 and 3.4 above is affected.
3.16
In respect of the balance of the amount
being R 2 003 812, 70, the Fund claims that SARS be
directed to repay this amount
to the Fund. I shall deal with this
contention together with SARS’ response hereunder.
[4]
SARS’ position
4.1
SARS has no quibble with the Fund’s
attempts at implementing the order of the full court. Its argument
was simply that the
taxes paid to it were paid on behalf of the
taxpayer, Mr Molefe. Any dispute regarding the assessment of tax or
allocation of funds
received were matters between itself and the
taxpayer.
4.2
The relationship between SARS and the
taxpayer, Mr Molefe is governed by the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (the
ITA) and the TAA. SARS
has no relationship with nor any duty of
repayment to the Fund. The Fund is merely seen as the statutorily
obliged implementing
agent in respect of the taxpayer’s payment
of taxes.
4.3
As far as the subsequent “adjustment”
or “corrections” of taxation is concerned, section 190 of
the TAA
caters for situations where income received by a taxpayer is
refundable to that person. In this fashion, the TAA has been
described
by SARS as a “self-correcting system”.
4.4
Any refund summarily made to the Fund (or
Mr Molefe) by SARS would be contrary to the provisions of the ITA and
the TAA. SARS is
only empowered to repay any amount of tax to a
taxpayer in the narrowly described circumstances set on in section
190 of the TAA.
These are limited to “
(a)
an amount properly refundable under a tax Act and, if so, reflected
in an assessment or (b) the amount erroneously paid in respect
of an
assessment in excess of the amount payable in terms of the
assessment
”. Until these
circumstances arise, SARS has no authority to repay the taxes claimed
by the Fund.
4.5
The illegality or unlawfulness of the
underlying basis upon which Eskom paid the Fund and the Fund
subsequently paid Mr Molefe,
does not automatically result in any
obligation by SARS to repay taxes paid to it, calculated on those
payments. See
Janse van Rensburg NO v
Botha
2011 JDR 0513 (SCA) and
Commissioner for Inland Revenue v Deagoa
Bay Cigarette Co Ltd
1918 TPD 391.
4.6
In terms of section 105 of the TAA, should
any dispute arise between Mr Molefe and SARS as to whether, after
repayment of the monies
received from the Fund, he has a tax credit
or not, that can only be dealt with in terms of Chapter 9 of the TAA,
but this falls
outside the ambit of the present application. See
inter alia
MP Finance Group CC (in
liquidation) v CSARS
2007 (5) SA 521
(SCA).
4.7
In these premises, I find that the Fund is
not entitled to claim repayment from SARS of the taxes paid to it.
These payments were
made on behalf of Mr Molefe and is therefore
repayable by him to the Fund.
[5]
Mr Molefe’s arguments
In heads of argument
delivered on behalf of Mr Molefe, four issues have been raised. They
are (1) that the matter was capable of
resolution via mediation, (2)
that there are material disputes of fact; (3) that the issues raised
have already been determined
and (4) that there is a “need for
judicial deference in matters that fall outside the Court’s
area of proficiency”.
I shall deal with each of these issues
hereunder.
5.1
Mediation
5.1.1
Where the process of mediation, introduced
into this Court by Rule 41A of the Uniform Rules, contemplates a
negotiated settlement
which involves some give-and-take and
concessions of both parties, such as a mediation for example
conducted by the South African
Human Rights Commission in
Ellaurie
v Madrasah Taleemuddin Islamic Institute and Another
2021 (2) SA 163
(KZD), this is not what the Heads of Argument on
behalf of Mr Molefe contemplates. The point is also not raised as a
jurisdictional
one as the Fund has responded to Mr Molefe’s
notice in terms of Rule 41A, a response to which I shall refer
hereinlater.
5.1.2
The “mediation” referred to on
behalf of Mr Molefe simply contemplates a determination of the
“correct”
calculation of the amounts in question. Some
discrepancies between the amount mentioned in the full court’s
judgment and
the subsequently delivered affidavits are also raised as
grounds for “mediation”.
5.1.3
In support of Mr Molefe’s purported
bona fides
,
he tendered “
to repay to the Eskom
Fund the difference (if any) between the cumulative total
”
of “
the exact amount of
contributions
” received by the
Fund from Eskom and any growth that he (Mr Molefe had earned thereon
“
on the one hand and the amount
actually received by him as early retirement benefit from the Eskom
Fund, on the other, to which
the courts have now held Mr Molefe is
not entitled
”. I used the words
“purported
bona fides
”
for if real
bona fides
had existed, one would have expected Mr Molefe to at least have paid
the amount of R 1 490 920, 88 which his actuary
had
calculated as owing, by now. As stated before, the full court has
ordered repayment and the 10 days contemplated in that order
have, at
the latest, expired after the last appeal attempt was unsuccessful on
8 August 2019.
5.1.4
The presence or absence of
bona
fides
are however, irrelevant for
purposes of calculation based on facts and on legal principles and
that is where the parties (and their
actuaries part ways). The joint
minutes of the actuaries indicate two principal differences. The
first is the claim by Mr Molefe
to “off-set” the
“employment contributions” made by his employer Eskom to
the Fund in the amount of R 2 218 571,
33 from the amount
owed by him to the Fund. The second is to “off-set” the
tax portion directed by SARS and paid by
the Fund to it in the
amounts of R 446 738, 60 from the one-third pay-out of the TRF
lumpsum.
5.1.5
In respect of the employment contributions,
Mr Molefe and his actuary argues that his employment contract with
Eskom required him
to be a member of a pension fund and that there is
therefore “no basis to return the funds to Eskom”. In
view of the
confirmed full court judgment and the findings made
therein, there is no scope for Mr Molefe to mediate him out of those
findings.
5.1.6
Mr Molefe’s argument is further that
these “off-sets” should be treated the same as “
using
his contribution from the Transnet Retirement Fund
”.
This argument is also without foundation as there is a material
difference between the nature of the two sources of funds.
Mr Molefe
was entitled to the TRF funds whereas he was not entitled to the
payment of any pension contributions from Eskom to the
Fund. Those
contributions should be returned to Eskom and insofar as it formed
part of his agreed gross remuneration, Eskom should
pay tax on behalf
of Mr
Molefe thereon and pay him the balance.
5.1.7
In respect of the “offset” of
the tax paid to SARS in respect of the one-third of the TRF funds
paid as a lumpsum to
Mr Molefe, his actuary’s contention in the
joint minutes is that “
not taking
this into account will leave Mr Molefe out of pocket as it is
doubtful that he will be successful claiming this money
back from
SARS
”. The consequence of this
argument is absurd to say the least. Mr Molefe contends that, in
respect of the amount that he
owes the Fund, not only should the
balance of the TRF funds which the Fund had received and still holds
for Mr Molefe’s credit
be set-off, but also the amount which
the Fund no longer holds and which it had paid over (on behalf of Mr
Molefe) to SARS. He
therefore seeks to claim a credit against the
Fund in respect of funds which are not in the hands of the Fund but
in the hands
of SARS.
5.1.8
The only aspects which could legally have
been mediated, have been done. These are the appointment of actuaries
and the production
of joint minutes, the agreement in respect of
set-off referred to in paragraph 3.3 above and the calculation of the
amount referred
to in paragraph 3.12 above. These were also the
fund’s responses in respect of the invitation to mediate the
disputes.
5.2
Factual disputes
5.2.1
As can be expected from issues involving
mathematical calculations, the actuaries in their joint minutes
confirmed that, save for
the issues mentioned in paragraphs 5.1.4 to
5.1.6 above (and the impact these differences have on the final
calculation), they
“are agreed on all other aspects”. As
pointed out in the discussion in paragraph 5.1 above, these
differences are legal
and not factual in nature. I find that the
remainder of arguments raised on behalf of Mr Molefe under this topic
are not the kind
of disputes which cannot be resolved “on the
papers”. Mr Molefe has not put forward any evidence which
contradicts
the amounts set out above in paragraphs 3.1 to 3.13 and
the total computed there.
5.2.2
Once the two deductions (the pension
contributions and the TRF tax payment) are refused, as discussed in
paragraphs 5.1.5 and 5.1.6
above, then one is back at the starting
point of the Fund’s demands. No “real” or “genuine
factual dispute”
has therefore been established as contemplated
in
Ripoll-Dausa v Middleton NO and
Others
[2005] ZAWCHC 6
;
2005 (3) SA 141
(C) a 151A –
153C and as discussed in
Wightman t/a J
W Construction v Headfour (Pty) Ltd and Another
[2008] ZASCA 6
;
2008 (3) SA 371
(SCA) at
[12]
and [13].
5.3
Judicial deference
5.3.1
As justification for this defence, the
Heads of Argument delivered on behalf of Mr Molefe contend as
follows: “
On the Eskom Fund’s
calculation, Mr Molefe must repay R 4 060 739, 37 or R
4 156 230, 82. On Mr Molefe’s
calculations, he need
repay no more than R 1 490 920, 88. The explanation is
clear from Mr Molefe’s actuary’s
report. This is hardly
an issue for a Court which is not proficient in actuarial
calculations. This Division, and the Constitutional
Court, has
pronounced on the need for courts to defer to others where it is less
proficient
”.
5.3.2
This argument can succinctly be dispatched
with. The R 1 490 920, 88 which Mr Molefe (and his actuary)
alleges is the
only amount due, has been calculated by them as
follows (with one cent difference):
Initial amount claimed by
the Fund R 4 060 739,
37
Plus: Additional monthly
payments
R 95 491,
45
R 4 156 230, 82
Less: employment
contributions*
R 2 218 571, 33
Less: tax claimed on
TRF*
R 446 738, 60
Nett amount allegedly
owed
R 1 490 920, 89
5.3.3
As set out above, once the two deducations
indicated with an asterisk have been disallowed, the calculations are
simple and no further
actuarial calculations have to be “deferred”
to. These calculations have also only been made by Mr Molefe with
reference
to the amount “initially” claimed by the Fund
and not with due consideration of the amounts referred to in
paragraphs
3 and 4 above.
5.4
Res iudicata
Mr Molefe further argues
that the disputes between the parties have already been decided by
the full court and that the present
application was unnecessary. I
agree but for the one proviso: if there was already legal certainty
that Mr Molefe should pay back
all the benefits received as a result
of the unlawful participation in the benefits of the pension scheme
administered by the Fund,
why has that not yet taken place? The fact
that the order of the full court has not yet been implemented and
that Mr Molefe resisted
complying with a demand issued in pursuance
thereof after his last attempt at appealing that judgment had failed,
justified, in
my view, the current application. The issue of
res
iudicata
therefore, rather than constituting a defence, confirms
Mr Molefe’s obligation to proverbially “pay back the
money”.
The
res iudicata
argument therefore only extends
to the extent that the initial and amended notices of motion of the
Fund include prayers in respect
of declaratory relief already granted
by the full court. For the remainder, that which the full court has
adjudicated on, needs
to be implemented. The present application is
for such implementation relief.
[6]
Appropriate relief
6.1
In the premises as set out above, I find
that Mr Molefe is obliged, as ordered by the full court, to pay back
the amounts set out
in paragraph 3.13 above (which include interest
up to 31 October 2019).
6.2
Insofar as Mr Molefe is entitled to a
set-off of the balance of the amount of his TRF lumpsum still held by
the Fund, I deem it
appropriate to defer to SARS’ determination
of the taxation payable upon set-off as being the event whereby the
balance accrues
to Mr Molefe as a taxpayer, rather than attempting to
calculate that amount and run the risk of falling foul of Mr Molefe’s
“deference” argument. He cannot be prejudiced by this
approach and I shall reflect it in the order.
6.3
The Fund formulated the relief claimed in
its amended notice of motion on the basis that it is only obliged to
refund Eskom upon
the receipt of funds from Mr Molefe. I find this to
be opportunistic. Once the full court has found that the payment of
funds by
Eskom to the Fund in pursuance of the early retirement
scheme pertaining to Mr Molefe have been unlawful, the obligation to
repay
those amounts arose in law, irrespective of a successful
recovery from Mr Molefe or not. Such amount should, additional to the
interest already calculated, include mora interest at the rate
prescribed by the
Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55 of 1975
.
6.4
In addition to the amounts referred to in
paragraph 6.1 above, the Fund is entitled to recover the tax amounts
paid on Mr Molefe’s
behalf from him (and not SARS) which,
including interest up to 31 October 2019, amounts to the amount
mentioned in paragraph 3.16
above, being R 2 003 812, 70.
6.5
In similar fashion as in the full court, I
find that costs should follow the event. This means that Mr Molefe
should be liable for
the Fund’s costs. SARS has, in addition,
been dragged into the fray, principally by Mr Molefe, who sought to
have taxes already
paid to SARS, representing the fiscus, to be
reversed. In this regard Mr Molefe had been substantially
unsuccessful and he should
therefore also pay SARS’ costs.
6.6
The timing of the repayment should, as
initially ordered by the full court, be within 10 days, but, due to
the tax implications
regarding the balance of the TRF funds held by
the Fund, that should be 10 days after set-off has taken place,
whereby the final
balance will be determined.
[7]
Order
In the premises, the
following order is made:
1.
The Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (the
Fund) is directed to repay to Eskom Holdings Soc Ltd (Eskom) the
following amounts:
1.1
The amount of R 30 103 915, 62
being the amount found by the full court on 25 January 2018 to have
been unlawfully paid
to the Fund, together with interest at the
prescribed mora rate from date of the unlawful payment to date of
repayment thereof.
1.2
The amount of R 1 345 461, 79,
constituting Eskom’s employer contributions on behalf of Mr
Molefe (inclusive of
Fund interest less applicable administration
fees) together with further mora interest from 31 October 2019 to
date of repayment
thereof.
1.3
The amount of R 727 547, 64,
constituting the total of Mr Molefe’s own monthly pension
contributions (inclusive of Fund
interest less administration fees)
together with further mora interest from 31 October 2019 to date of
payment thereof.
1.4
The amount of R 123 332,98,
constituting Mr Molefe’s performance bonus pension
contributions (inclusive of Fund interest
less administration costs)
together with further mora interest from 31 October 2019 to date of
payment thereof.
2.
Eskom is directed to pay Mr Molefe the
post-tax value of the amounts referred to in paragraphs 1.3 and 1.4
above.
3.
Mr Molefe is ordered to repay the Fund the
amounts of R 7 981 727, 94 and R 2 003 812, 70
together with mora
interest thereon from 31 October 2019 to date of
repayment.
4.
The Fund is entitled to set-off against the
above amount due by Mr Molefe, the nett balance of the Transnet
Retirement Fund lumpsum
received from or on behalf of Mr Molefe upon
receipt of a tax directive from the South African Revenue Service in
respect of the
Tax payable on such amount, inclusive of accruals
thereto subsequent to 31 October 2019.
5.
The payment referred to in paragraph 3
above shall be made within 10 days after the set-off contemplated in
paragraph 4 has occurred.
6.
Mr Molefe is ordered to pay the costs of
the Fund and of SARS, such costs to include the costs of two counsel
where employed.
N
DAVIS
Judge
of the High Court
Gauteng
Division, Pretoria
Date
of Hearing: 17 March 2022
Judgment
delivered: 4 July 2022
APPEARANCES:
For
Appellant:
Adv T Motau SC together with
Adv R Tshetlo
Attorney
for Appellant:
Norton Rose Fullbright South Africa Inc.,
Johannesburg
c/o Macintosh Cross &
Farquharson, Pretoria
For
the 1
st
Respondent:
Adv V Ngalwana SC together with
Adv S Nelani
Attorneys
for the 1
st
Respondent:
Molaba Attorneys, Pretoria
For
the 3
rd
Respondent:
Adv L Sigogo SC together with
Adv L Kalipa
Attorneys
for the 3
rd
Respondent: Ledwaba Mazwai Attorneys,
Pretoria
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