By Sizwe Dlamini
History was made last week Friday at the Swaziland Building Society (SBS) Special General Meeting (SGM) where an overwhelming 94.6% of members voted in favor of converting the Society into a fully-fledged commercial bank.
The SGM took place at Zakhele Free Evangelical Assembles in Manzini and saw over 2700 members taking part in the voting process. The results were officially announced at a media briefing held at the Open House Hotel in Mbabane earlier today by the Society’s Chairman, Elijah Simelane.
The Chairman revealed that approximately 2,684 members voted in favor of the conversion, while 82 voted against, 47 abstained, and 22 ballots were spoiled.
“We are thrilled to announce that 94.67% of our members have voted in favor of transforming the Society to a fully-fledged commercial bank. This is a clear and decisive signal of confidence in the future of SBS,” Simelane declared.
Two conditions were set by the regulator for the resolution to pass: at least 75% of members on the day of voting must vote in favor of the resolution, and 21% of those present on the day of voting must be permanent shareholders.
Simelane confirmed that SBS had successfully met both conditions stating, “In addition to the overwhelming voting support, the value of shares held by members who voted “YES” totaled over E691 million, representing 63.42% of the total shareholding required for the conversion, meaning we have met the second condition that the shareholders should be more than 21%. In contrast, shares held by those who voted “NO” amounted to E5.861 million, or 0.54%, while shares held by those who abstained were valued at E6.582 million, or 0.6% of the total required value. This confirms that SBS not only secured strong member support but also fulfilled the necessary financial criteria for the conversion.”
Meanwhile, during the question and answer session, Eswatini Observer Sunday Editor, Phephisa Khoza, asked for clarity on why only 2700 member votes were enough, yet SBS had over 11,000 members.
Responding, SBS Managing Director, Mbali Sibanyoni, explained that as SBS, they had satisfied the 90-day member outreach and education period meaning that they had spoken to as many members as possible and only 2700 members elected to vote.