/ 7 November 2013

Pule under fire from ConCourt over deadline

Pule Under Fire From Concourt Over Deadline

The court was reacting to a request by Pule's successor Yunus Carrim for an extension to the Thursday deadline, the broadcaster reported on Thursday.

In March, the court upheld Phumla Ngewu's challenge involving her divorced husband's pension fund.

Ngewu and the Women's Legal Centre Trust brought an application relating to the South African Post Office retirement fund.

Ngewu was married to South African Post Office worker Mawethu Ngewu until July 27 2007.

He is a member of the fund.

Divorce
In their divorce decree, Phumla was awarded a 50% share of her ex-husband's pension interest.

However, under the rules of the fund, this did not accrue upon divorce, but when her husband terminated his membership of the fund.

She and the trust challenged the provisions of the rules of the fund, alternatively the Divorce Act and the Pension Funds Act, contending that they violated her constitutional right to equality.

The court found that a section of the act dealing with the administrative and financial matters of the fund was unconstitutional and did not provide for the payment of the pension interest at the time of divorce.

It declared the section invalid and suspended the declaration for eight months for the legislature to "cure the defect".

The fund admitted there was a constitutional defect in its rules. – Sapa