Fraud in Lim ANC alleged

While having to stave off prophets of doom identifying ever widening cracks in ruling party ranks, the African National Congress (ANC) in Limpopo would most probably on top of everything else have difficulty still warding off the evil of alleged fraudulent practices seemingly mutating in its midst.
Tuesday’s advancement on ANC provincial headquarters Frans Mohlala House by party members from Mopani Region drew attention to several matters having given rise to their discontent, including a new tendency pertaining to alleged fraudulent practices involving membership application forms. Members of concerned branches in the region demanded in the main the addressing of the issue of alleged falsified membership, an elective conference to be held and seeing the heads of ANC Provincial Secretary Nocks Seabi and his deputy, Makoma Makhurupetje roll.
What initially was expected to have been an organised sit-in for mid-morning, turned into an action during which makeshift posters, whistles and sjamboks came out as the mass converged outside the party’s premises. Leaders of sub-regions entered the building in an effort to demand an audience with the top leadership of the party in the province, but apparently to no avail. The posters individually summarised demands and grievances aired in song in front of the barred gates while the Police monitored the situation.
Three attempts to draw attention to matters
From Ba-Phalaborwa Sub-Region Deputy Secretary Aubrey Ngovheni it was established that it had been their third attempt at drawing the attention of the provincial leadership to the alleged ongoing practices in the run-up to the pending Mopani regional elective conference, without success.
At the time of going to press he confirmed that they were on their way to hand a memorandum of grievances and demands to the national leadership at Luthuli House, considered to be engaged in a duplicate investigation steered by ANC Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte the past week. “What they are doing is punishing us for supporting (ANC Deputy President) Cyril Ramaphosa and (ANC Secretary General) Gwede Mantashe and condoning the fraudulent activities because they want these people to emerge to support them in the upcoming national conference,” exclaimed Ngovheni.
During a media conference conducted after calling on Frans Mohlala House on Tuesday at around 12:30, Ngovheni revealed the existence of fraudulent party membership forms in the movement’s Giyani sub-region and relentless efforts to collapse the 7th ANC Mopani Regional Conference that is still in the planning. In the same vein he mentioned witnessing a new tendency of some cadres in the region allegedly “using fraudulent exercises that are not limited to backdating application forms and the bulk purchase of those membership with (the) sole aim of swinging the numbers”, in order to allegedly inflate branch representation at the planned elective conference. He further clarified the matter by explaining that the suspicion existed that the actions were aimed at preventing the re-election of current regional chairperson Seaparo Sekoati.
Earlier investigation into alleged membership form fraud
Upon conclusion of his statement at the presser in Polokwane Ngovheni furnished the media with copies of a dateless report following an earlier investigation by Mantashe’s office into alleged fraudulent membership forms in the Giyani sub-region of the Mopani Region after a national audit process. The document refers to a total 21 branches being affected and the directive for a special team of capturers to be sent to the sub-region, working at the provincial office from 17 to 23 May this year with the clear instructions of receiving, sorting and capturing audited membership forms of the specific branches. In terms of the information contained in the document the range of transgressions found included bulk form payments not being done properly, “fraudulent bank stamp or stamps are floating around in branches or sub-region”, certain branches faking bank payments, prevalent tampering with proof of payment slips to align with bank stamp dates, incorrect dates used reflecting deposits done on public holidays and containing no proper teller signatures. In the conclusion of the report there is mention of the team indeed finding that the allegations being correct due to a number of fraudulent forms discovered.
Ngovheni put forward the belief that under normal circumstances the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the ANC was supposed to look at the available reports, including that of the bank with whom the ANC conducts business, to file charges against the culprits and resolve on how the region could be assisted to hold its conference and determine the course of action. He claimed that for factional reasons the provincial secretariat had opted to verbally brief the PEC knowing it would deny the PEC the right to adjudicate on the two reports, whereupon the matter was referred to, among others, the Provincial Working Committee (PWC) which is perceived by the disgruntled members to be delaying and collapsing the regional conference.
Among their demands consolidated in their statement to the media resorts the institution of criminal cases against the alleged perpetrators. They further called on the PEC to utilise the respective investigation reports and release the region to hold its conference by this weekend and on ANC Provincial Chairperson Stan Mathabatha to convene an urgent special PEC meeting to adjudicate on the matters without delay as well as looking into the conduct of Seabi and Makhurupetje, seen to be deliberately frustrating the work of the ANC to hold the regional conference.
Suspicions of activities in other regions
Similar concerns about alleged fraudulent activities and the use of falsified bank stamps were raised by a source in the ruling party’s Peter Mokaba Region who alluded to the fact that the problem had been seen as not being limited to Mopani Region alone. According to him the alleged buying of membership ahead of Peter Mokaba Region’s elective conference – thus far scheduled for October – had also been perceived to be occurring for months now. He claimed that it was especially rife in the Mankweng, Botlokwa and Molemole areas of the ANC’s Peter Mokaba Region. He expressed the wish that an investigation be conducted that would focus on all corners of the province and reveal the modus operandi. He called the situation shocking.
Aluwani Netsianda speaking for the ANC in Limpopo said the issue of an investigation into alleged fraudulent membership forms was being attended to by both the PEC and National Executive Committee (NEC) of the organisation. Netsianda indicated that branches of the movement had brought the matter to the provincial office, but when asked whether he could clarify whether the matter had been taken to national level by the province or the branches he opted to refrain from doing so.
He added saying that membership audits were being conducted by the provincial and national offices from time to time during which issues might arise. According to Netsianda outstanding logistical issues had prevented the elective conference in Mopani Region from taking place. No date has been set as yet.

Story & photos: YOLANDE NEL
>>observer.yolande@gmail.com