adminAngeline Mpofu Chronicle Reporter
Geozing Pawnbrokers Investment creditors yesterday failed to agree on the proposal to engage lawyers to push for the company to be placed under judicial management.A group of creditors opposed to the proposals stormed out of the meeting following suggestion that they should contribute money to engage lawyers.
The meeting, which was held at former Geozing building along Khami Road in Bulawayo, sought to convince about 200 creditors who attended to pay $1 each towards the costs of hiring lawyers.
The creditors were divided with some supporting the idea to contribute money while others were opposed. Those opposed later walked out of the meeting.
Last month the liquidators and former Geozing Pawn Brokers director George Zingani met with creditors who unanimously voted to have the company, which is under liquidation, placed under judicial management so that they could recover their money.
Some creditors felt the process of engaging lawyers was taking very long.
“I do not understand why the committee is asking us to pay money to get back our money. I do not have the money and I am not going to pay. Their procedures are taking too long,” fumed one of the creditors.
The creditors demanded transparency in the handling of the issue. Some accused their committee of seeking to make money out of them, saying they were tired of meetings that produce nothing.
“We don’t want meetings where people just debate things without a way forward,” said another creditor.
Creditors’ committee chairperson Ben Hlatshwayo said the company can only be placed under judicial management if creditors engage lawyers.
“Legal procedures are very expensive and as your committee we do not have any funds. All creditors including those who did not attend the meeting should support us and contribute $1 to pay lawyers who will apply for judicial management,” he said.
Hlatshwayo said all creditors would get their money once the company was put under judicial management. During the last meeting, the committee promised about 4,000 creditors that the application to have the company placed under judicial management was to be submitted the same week but this was not done.
Liquidators have said that the company owes investors more than $6 million and the company has promised to pay clients 30 percent interest per month on their investment.
Online Reporter