Durban - The ANC in the eThekwini region has to answer to its provincial mother body after it emerged that it scored a donation of R100 000 from a company charged alongside former mayor Zandile Gumede.
The region, which is one of the biggest regions of the governing party, allegedly scored the donation from Ilanga Lamahlase (known as Ilanga), a company owned by Hlenga Sibisi.
Sibisi and his company are one of 20 accused (including three other companies) facing corruption, money laundering and fraud charges together with Gumede, the former mayor of eThekwini Municipality.
According to the State indictment which was unveiled last Tuesday when Gumede and her co-accused appeared before the Durban commercial crimes court, immediately after being paid by eThekwini Municipality for services which were not even rendered accordingly, some money was transferred to a Standard Bank account that belonged to the regional structure of the ANC.
That happened in October 2018 and the State alleges that it was meant to enhance Gumede’s political standing. At the time Gumede was the regional chairperson, serving with the likes of Bheki Ntuli (now deputy co-ordinator of the regional task team) as regional secretary.
The high-profile corruption trial has since been transferred to the Durban High Court for a pre-trial hearing that will take place on June 14.
It appears that when the news broke that the ANC in the eThekwini region had scored allegedly illicit money out of the tender, the KZN ANC which oversees all regions demanded answers and the region has so far failed to explain how it got the money.
Gumede said she could not comment on the issue of the alleged donation because the matter is before court.
Independent Media yesterday sent questions to Ntuli and MEC Kwazi Mshengu, the convener of the regional task team, and they had not responded at the time of going to print.
The spokesperson of the ANC in KZN, Nhlakanipho Ntombela, said they cannot answer those questions as the donation went to the region, not the province. Ntombela also confirmed that they had demanded answers from the region and they had yet to receive a report regarding the dubious donation.
“We have requested them (the region) to furnish us with a report regarding the donation. We want to know from them what they know about the donation which was given to them,” Ntombela said.