EFF statement on R60 billion class action lawsuit against big banks
27 September 2024
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) fully endorses the long-overdue R60 billion class action lawsuit against South Africa's major banks for their predatory and exploitative practices, which have left hundreds of poor, primarily black South Africans homeless and destitute. This legal action exposes the deep-rooted systemic neglect and exploitation of the vulnerable, a reality the EFF has consistently highlighted in its fight for economic justice.
This class action involves more than 200 applicants whose homes were repossessed by major banks—Absa, Standard Bank, FirstRand, and Nedbank—after missing bond payments. These repossessed homes were auctioned off for a fraction of their true market value, with some homes sold for as little as 10% of what they were worth, leaving their owners homeless and still indebted to the banks.
Some properties were even sold for as low as RI 00. These practices were common before 2018 when the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, amended the rules to require reserve prices for properties sold in auction, but by then, many had already been affected. The applicants, most of whom are poor and unable to recover their losses, have been living in destitution for over a decade, and now seek damages from the banks.
This legal battle began in 2017, when the victims sought recourse from the Constitutional Court. However, the court referred the case back to the High Court for further hearings. In 2020, a R60 billion class action lawsuit was filed against the banks in the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, for unjustly selling properties far below market value, failing to treat property sales as a last resort, and disregarding the livelihood of the affected homeowners.