Thousands of military veterans are fighting a bid by the Municipal Councillors Pension Fund (MCPF) to liquidate a North West property developer to protect their stake in two vast tracts of land valued at R850m, says a Weekend Argus report. MCPF curators have applied to the Western Cape High Court to have Isago@N12 Development liquidated for failing to repay about R137m.

The MCPF paid R120m for the stands and R16.8m in VAT.

The liquidation would most likely result in the sale of two vast tracts of land of more than 1000ha with a market value of R850m, notes the report. The matter will be heard on 9 May.

The SA National Military Veterans Association trust wants to stop the liquidation of Isago as they have been identified by the Government Employees Pension Fund and the Public Investment Corporation as beneficiaries of the sale of the land in Matlosana, North West.

The military veterans involved are from Umkhonto we Sizwe, Azanian People’s Liberation Army, Azanian National Liberation Army, the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei bantustans and the apartheid-era SA Defence Force.

According to the MCPF curators, Juanito Damons and Thabang Kekana, Isago was expected to make an initial payment of R30m by the end of November last year in terms of the settlement agreement, but it did not do so.

The remaining R107m was to be paid by the end of this month.

The fund prepared to proceed with a liquidation application against Isago, but the military veterans’ trust applied to intervene, prompting the postponement of the matter.

Full Weekend Argus report (subscription needed)