A Unisa law professor must pay R10 million each to two Pretoria medical doctors for a contract that fell through.
|||A Unisa law professor must pay R10 million each to two Pretoria medical doctors after a contract to establish a health care development project in Swaziland with Swaziland’s Prince Mangaliso Dlamini fell through.
Doctors Reynhardt van Rooyen and Johannes Kok told the Pretoria High Court that Professor Frans Whelpton approached them in 2003 to become involved in the project.
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 was appointed to handle the implementation.
Whelpton asked both doctors whether they were interested in becoming involved in the project. The king of Swaziland 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 court heard 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 they agreed to become involved and in September 2003 made a presentation to the professor and Prince Dlamini regarding the structure of the programme. They subsequently received a letter from the prince that they were appointed to assist with establishing the programme.
The doctors said they finalised their planning of the programme and on October 31, 2003, at the Royal Swazi Sun Hotel made a power point presentation to the professor and the prince. They met with the Swazi king later that day, who confirmed their appointment to the programme.
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 winding down their practices and were in the process of handing over their patients to other doctors in January 2004. This was in spite of none of the money having being made available yet or the Swazi constitution not yet having been approved by parliament.
Whelpton, meanwhile, 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 readily 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.
The new constitution was only accepted by the Swazi parliament in June 2005.
The doctors said they had to restart their medical practices in the last quarter of 2005 as they had not yet received any payment and they realised they could not go on like that.
Whelpton was also not able to pay them, as he, too, was waiting for his money.
Judge JW Louw said in his judgment it might be so that the loan agreement did not stipulate a specific date as to when the money should be paid, but added that the money should have been paid within a reasonable time after the constitution was accepted by the Swazi parliament.
The judge 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 in terms of the loan agreement.
Pretoria News