High Court sets dates for Geozing clients’ meeting

Temba Dube Senior Reporter
THE High Court has set meeting dates for thousands of Geozing Pawnbrokers Investments’ clients who lost their money when the company collapsed in April. According to a company liquidation notice yesterday, people who invested in the company should meet on 6 and 7 August at the Bulawayo Amphitheatre, with proof of their claims for validation.

Geozing was three months ago placed under provisional  liquidation following the granting of a High Court order by Justice Martin Makonese.
The company was taking deposits from members of the public and offering interest rates of up to 30 percent every month.

When clients met with the Deputy Master of the High Court last month, the names of 3 099 complainants in the case, were read out.

In an interview yesterday, Mr Philip Ndlovu, who is co-liquidator of the company with Mr Matshobana Ncube, a prominent city lawyer, said creditors who had claims against the company should lodge them with the Master of the High Court or either of the liquidators before the dates of the meetings.

“The purpose of the meeting is to confirm the claims. They should all have been lodged before the meeting. At the meeting, we will simply be calling out names of creditors whose claims have been validated,” said Mr Ndlovu.

He said another meeting would be called on a later date to advise creditors about the payments of money they were owed.
Mr Ndlovu could not be drawn into disclosing the number of creditors who had lodged claims so far.

However, sources close to the issue said hundreds more had approached the Master of the High Court.

“At the last meeting, creditors from Gokwe, Victoria Falls and other parts of the country were not able to attend. A high number of the creditors have since registered their claims,” said a source.

At the last meeting, clients were told that the company had no assets registered in its name and all those identified were in the names of the directors, Mr George Zingane and his wife, Ms Duduzile Ndlovu.

The two ceased to be directors when the company was placed under provisional liquidation.
It also emerged that the company had no bank account.

Geozing has been locked in a series of battles with hundreds of its clients who have made several court applications seeking to recover their money.