Bonitas governance under fire

Johannesburg - The acting Registrar of Medical Schemes filed papers with the High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday asking for an urgent hearing to place Bonitas Medical Fund under curatorship, said the Council for Medical Schemes.

"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 anyway," acting Registrar Craig Burton-Durham said in a statement.

"Bonitas remains one of the best-performing schemes in the industry, its solvency ratio (reserves as a percentage of contributions) [is] healthy at well above the 25% required by the [Medical Schemes] Act," he said.

The council said Bonitas had until Wednesday to indicate whether it intended opposing the application and until Monday to file answering affidavits.

It described Bonitas as the third-largest medical scheme registered in the country and the second-largest open medical scheme after Discovery Health Medical Scheme , with growing membership now at more than 600 000 beneficiaries.

Burton-Durham had recommended that Molokomme Joseph Maluleke be appointed as the curator, it said.

Maluleke is the chairman 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 to replace 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 council said.

It advised Bonitas beneficiaries not to worry about the scheme.

"This curatorship is needed to protect their interests and we expect it to last a short period of time," it said.

Brokers were 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 council said.

- Sapa