JOHANNESBURG – The Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday heard the case of Mpumalanga Rugby (Pty) Ltd (Pumas) versus Innovative Solutions Group (ISG).
The Pumas rugby team has filed for the liquidation of their former main sponsor, ISG after the latter allegedly failed to pay the team’s sponsorship fees.
ISG and its owner, Arnoux Maré, recently made the news when it was alleged that his company was unable to fulfil its sponsorship obligations to the Pumas rugby team.
ISG is a Gauteng-based company that provides services such as staff outsourcing, finance, administration, and taxation.
ALSO READ: Top cops on the hunt for Graskop rapist
They were announced as the main sponsor of the Mpumalanga provincial rugby team in 2018. The Pumas’ company, Mpumalanga Rugby (Pty) Ltd indicated in media reports on August 13 that ISG owed the provincial rugby union R500 000. The union gave ISG 21 days to deliver. Wednesday’s court application would only follow if they failed to make payment.
When ISG learned that Lowvelder and investigative journalist De Wet Potgieter had been probing allegations incriminating them, they initially refused to answer eight queries sent to them by Potgieter and asked the Pretoria High Court to interdict the newspaper and the journalist from publishing.
Acting Judge Swanepoel denied their application with costs.
Last week Lowvelder featured allegations that ISG had not been properly managing deductions made from the earnings of employees employed by companies who had outsourced these functions to ISG.
ALSO READ: Stepfather allegedly rapes stepdaughter
In reaction to this, ISG spokesman Sya van der Walt-Potgieter stated that the company would launch a full investigation to establish where the allegations came from.
She alleged that those who had been making the allegations had provided the media with incorrect information and must have been malicious.
The liquidation application was postponed on Monday so that the parties could settle out of court. An agreement could not be reached.
On Wednesday the Mpumalanga Rugby Union’s legal team argued in court that ISG did not file a notice of intention to oppose the application timeously.
The court, however, condoned this and postponed the matter, allowing them until September 30 to file opposing documents.
