Cope denies having only R19K in its bank account

Cope’s general secretary Papi Kganare disputed claims that there was only R19,000 in the party’s account, though he did not disclose the correct amount.

The Sowetan reported on Thursday that advocate Modidima Mannya, the lawyer representing Dolly Rakheila, the party’s finance officer in Limpopo, and Darius Sefara, the administrative officer, obtained a writ of execution from the Polokwane High Court to attach Limpopo Cope’s bank account and found that it only had R19,000.

The two former employees had reportedly taken Cope to court over unpaid salaries from January last year estimated at R400,000.

Mannya told the publication that he opted for a liquidation application.

Though a senior official in the province, who asked not to be named, confirmed reports of R19,000 to the publication, Kganare said they were false.

He was quoted as saying: “It’s not true that there is R19,000 left. We just got paid a lot of money from the Independent Electoral Commission and we are using that money for electioneering. It is true that those people who are owed were employed by Cope but they never liked us. We will oppose whatever move to frustrate us.”

Early this year Cope president Mosioua Lekota made an allegation that left some on social media speculating that the party may have been struggling financially. In an interview with Bongi Gwala on SAfm, Lekota alleged that former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa still owed Cope R4 million.

“He still owes us money by the way. After he lost the case, he had to pay R4 million. He then pleaded poverty, we couldn’t find him anywhere. We put special investigators to find him and his properties, there was nothing we could find. He still owes us money. Four million gone,” he said at the time.

But Shilowa said Lekota had been talking about the R4 million since 2010 and was yet to go to the police or court in a bid to get it back.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.