AFTER the Eastern Province Rugby Union’s commercial arm, EP Kings, was liquidated at the High Court in Port Elizabeth, the union received a timely bailout that will keep it above water at least until the end of the year.
Nelson Mandela Bay Metro has given Eastern Province R20m over 12 months to help the union cover the costs of participating in the Currie Cup, which begins this weekend.
EP Kings was plunged into crisis when it failed to pay staff, player and management salaries in July and August 2015. In January this year, 36 players went to court to sue for liquidation and after being provisionally granted in March, Judge Phakamisa Tshiki confirmed final liquidation on Thursday.
The players were owed a total of R18m, which took EP Kings’ net debt close to R60m.
In court papers, SA Rugby-appointed Kings administrator Monde Tabata said EP Kings assets stood at only R69,748, measured at liquidation value. As the South African Revenue Service, which is owed R14m, is the most significant creditor, it is unclear whether the players will get any money back.
But the players’ lawyer, Craig Jessop, said: "We are satisfied that this matter has come to a conclusion and we look forward to the next process, which is the recovery of the monies due to the players. We will be working closely with the liquidator to see how best we could do that in the circumstances."
Despite the judgment, Kings is not dead yet. The franchise managed to cling to its top division Currie Cup status.
Earlier this week the South African Rugby Union (Saru) asked its 13 other member unions to vote whether the Kings should maintain its Premier Division status or be relegated to the First Division, with the Leopards, who finished outside the qualifying positions during the Currie Cup preliminary round, taking its place.
The plan was quashed when the Griffons voted against the resolution. It needed 100% of the votes to pass.
EP Kings were meant to take on Griquas at 3pm on Friday in Kimberley in the first game of the Currie Cup Premier Division but the match has been postponed due to the liquidation saga.
Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Johann Mettler said the cash injection was to help the province get a CEO who could source sponsors to get the union out of its quagmire.
"It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this," said Mettler. "My main focus is to look towards the future and allow the liquidator to deal with the past. The main motivation behind the funding was to ensure we have a viable anchor tenant for our stadium.
"We have Chippa United as the other tenant. It’s critically important that the rugby union remains competitive. We’ve made the funds available but it’s the task of the appointed CEO to find sponsorship money, so that the union can become a self-sustaining entity."
Every man and his dog has been picking at the EP Kings carcass since the Cheeky Watson-led province was plunged into crisis. When news broke of the final liquidation order, there were fears that the hub of black rugby would stand to lose its Super Rugby licence.
It is an open secret that the Nelspruit-based Pumas want to wrest the franchise licence from Eastern Province.
But a source close to Saru said the Super Rugby franchise licence would remain in Port Elizabeth. "The liquidation and Super Rugby matters are not intertwined, so the Southern Kings will remain in Super Rugby," the source, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
"They will keep their Super Rugby licence but SA Rugby will administer it on their behalf until the union matters are stable."
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