After a plan for a health centre in Swaziland, backed by
King Mswati III, failed to materialise, a court has ordered that two South
African doctors should receive US$1.2million (R10 million) each in compensation
after a contract they signed fell through.
King Mswati had promised them that R3.2 billion in donor
funds would be available to build a health centre, but the money did not come. Prince
Mangaliso Dlamini was project manager of the scheme.
Frans Whelpton, a professor at the University of South Africa (UNISA), convinced two medical doctors
Reynhardt van Rooyen and Johannes Kok to be involved in the project.
The Pretoria Newsreported that the two gave up their medical practices in 2003 to devote themselves
to the scheme.
Pretoria High Court was told that Whelpton told Kok about
the project when he went to him for a medical check-up. He told Kok that
Swaziland planned on developing the health care project and that he had been
appointed to handle the implementation.
King Mswati III and his family were at that stage
patients of Van Rooyen. As Whelpton knew this, he said it would be a good idea
for the two doctors to become involved in the project.
The Pretoria News
reported that the doctors and Whelpton met on various occasions and the
professor presented the doctors with various letters, including one signed by
Prince Dlamini in his capacity of project manager of the programme. This was to
prove that the programme was a reality.
The doctors said they were also told that an amount of
R3.2 billion was made available to Swaziland for this from certain donors funds
and that this money would be deposited in Swaziland’s central bank. This was
due to happen as soon as Swaziland’s new constitution was accepted by the
Swaziland parliament.
The doctors said Whelpton told them that for their help
in the planning and development of the programme, they would receive three
percent of the amount, which worked out at R160m over a three-year period.
The doctors said the king assured them the new
constitution would be accepted by March 2004, where after the donor funds would
be made available.
The doctors started to wind down their medical practices
in January 2004, although none of the donor funds had been paid and Swazi
constitution had not been approved by parliament.
The Pretoria News
reported Whelpton wanted to ensure that the doctors did not suffer financial
loss while winding down their practices and suggested that he would loan each
R10m. He, however, did not have the money available at the time and planned to
pay them from money he was due to receive for work which he had done for the
Swazi Government.
Whelpton was due to receive millions from the UN for
research he had undertaken regarding the Swazi common law.
A written loan agreement was signed between the parties
on January 22, 2004, in which Whelpton undertook to loan the doctors R10m each.
Whelpton was not able to pay them, as he was waiting to be paid by the Swazi
Government.
Judge JW Louw said it was clear that there was a binding
contract between the parties and that the doctors were entitled to the amount
promised to them by Whelpton in terms of the loan agreement.
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