The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) will close down its controversial investment wing, leader Julius Malema said on Thursday.
”We are closing it down and then we are concentrating on other things,” Malema told reporters in Johannesburg.
”Lembede has a very bad image. It’s not our problem, we [the current leadership] never messed up Lembede.”
Malema said the national working committee of the ANCYL would recommend the systematic closure of Lembede Investment Holdings to its national executive committee.
”And all its assets will be transferred to a development trust, whose mandate will be confined to fundraising and social responsibility programmes of the ANCYL,” said Malema.
Gobodo auditors, investigating the financial affairs of Lembede, found signs of irregularities, said a Sunday Times report. Auditors pointed to dubious bookkeeping and suspicious financial activities.
The report found that previous management had breached the Companies Act, failed to keep financial records of its deals and failed to conduct audits of financial statements since its establishment in 2000.
According to the Sunday Times, R436-million from 32 suspected dubious deals was unaccounted for.
The auditors recommended that several former leaders be questioned about the missing money.
ANCYL treasurer general and Lembede chairperson Pule Mabe has said the board would not take action against the previous management.
The Democratic Alliance’s Jack Bloom has laid nine charges of fraud and corruption against the ANCYL and Lembede.
”The ANC Youth League is setting an appalling example by trying to sweep the disturbing findings of the Gobodo report under the carpet,” Bloom said in a statement earlier this week.
He said the charges were laid at the Johannesburg police station on Sunday.
According to the affidavit, Lembede board members are charged according to section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004, ”which makes it an offence not to report a corrupt act to the police, as well as section 20 of this Act, as an accessory after an offence”.
A charge of defeating the ends of justice is also included.
”I have furthermore requested the police to investigate nine findings by the Gobodo report as reported by the Sunday Times newspaper concerning multimillion-rand deals that allegedly point to fraud, unjust enrichment and contravention of the Companies Act,” Bloom said. — Sapa