|
Category:
Insurance
News /
Medical
Aid / Bonitas Medical Fund / January 2010
Regulator
Wants Curator For Bonitas Medical Fund
The acting Registrar of Medical Schemes has filed papers with the
South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg asking for an urgent
hearing to place Bonitas Medical Fund under curatorship in terms of
Section 56 of the Medical Schemes Act (Act 131 of 1998).
 Should Bonitas wish to oppose our application, they have until
[later today] to notify our attorneys of their intention to do so
and until Monday to file their answering affidavits. Bonitas is the
third-largest medical scheme registered in South Africa and the
second-largest open medical scheme after Discovery Health Medical
Scheme, its membership continuing to grow and now standing at over
600 000 beneficiaries.
The acting Registrar, Mr Craig Burton-Durham, would like to
reiterate that our reasons for applying for this curatorship have to
do only with the alleged governance problems at the scheme; they are
not related to its financial soundness in any way. Bonitas remains
one of the best-performing schemes in the industry, its solvency
ratio (reserves as a percentage of contributions) healthy at well
above the 25% required by the Act.
Mr Burton-Durham has recommended that Mr Molokomme Joseph Maluleke
be appointed as the curator of Bonitas. Mr Maluleke is the
chairperson of a well-established law firm and has a proven track
record of stabilising organisations experiencing governance
problems. Should our application be successful, he is toreplace the
current Board of Trustees of Bonitas and take control of the affairs
of the scheme until they are regularised and a new Board is
appointed.
The beneficiaries of Bonitas are advised not to worry about their
scheme. This curatorship is needed to protect their interests and we
expect it to last a short period of time. Brokers, in turn, are
again advised to act with restraint. Any advice you give must accord
with the principles of best advice, have the best interests of your
clients at heart, and be based on a proper assessment of the
situation.
The papers filed with the court today can be obtained from the
court.
- Council for Medical Schemes
 |
