Human Settlements Minister Nomaindia Mfeketo has ordered the appointment of an independent investigator to look into the affairs of the beleaguered Community Schemes Ombudsman Services (CSOS), the body that regulates shared living property arrangements such as body corporates and homeowner associations.
The Mail & Guardian understands that Mfeketo is unhappy with a report from the CSOS board about recent controversies,including a dodgy investment of R100-million and the board’s response to the minister on how to handle the matter.
Her decision was made despite the board’s resolution last week to institute a forensic investigation into the investment of the funds, which mainly came from levies paid by community schemes and the CSOS’s annual appropriation from Parliament.
Two weeks ago the M&G reported how R80-million of the money —which was invested with the embattled VBS Mutual Bank that is under curatorship, without the necessary treasury approvals and outside of the organisation’s investment policy —was written off by the CSOS board. This led to the organisation’s first adverse audit outcome.
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