Howard Barrell
A who’s who of the Democratic Party in Gauteng will testify before an internal investigation which began its hearings in Sandton on January 21, into allegedly fraudulent membership lists in branches in the DP’s Johannesburg heartland.
Peter Leon, the former provincial leader of the DP, Jack Bloom, another of the party’s representatives in the provincial legislature who was named by the media last year as being among Leon’s chief detractors, and Peter Davidson, one of the Gauteng party’s MPs, are among those expected to testify before the inquiry. Rudi Heine, an MP who conducted the second of the two party audits into membership lists, is also likely to give evidence.
Other party stalwarts expected to appear before the committee include Claire Quail and Val Mickleburgh from the Gauteng South region of the party. A number of branch officials, one of whom is abroad until late this month, are also expected to give evidence.
The inquiry is a follow-up to a row which erupted late last year when two internal audits of party membership lists turned up evidence of possible fraud in four branches, including the party’s long- standing stronghold of Hough-ton, in the Gauteng South region. Party leaders feared some members might be trying to inflate branch membership in a way that would help one faction at the next provincial party congress.
Under DP rules, the numbers of members in a particular branch or region affect the number of delegates and thus the number of votes it has at party congresses and in the selection of party office-bearers.
The Gauteng congress of the party was postponed and Peter Leon brought forward his impending resignation as provincial leader in apparent protest at the alleged fraud and local tensions. Leon cited professional pressures – he is a partner in one of Johannesburg’s leading law firms – for his decision.
The inquiry is also looking into a letter, apparently written by a senior party member or members who chose to remain anonymous, which was released to several newspapers as the row erupted and was highly critical of DP national leader Tony Leon and his brother, Peter. The letter referred to the “megalomaniacal Leon brothers and their lacky Douglas Gibson”, the party’s deputy leader, and accused the three of treating the DP as “their personal fiefdom”.
Senior party sources alleged in early December that a cabal of old-style liberals in Gauteng was resentful and fearful of Tony Leon’s attempts to broaden party membership beyond the party’s traditional catchment. They suggested this group might be behind the party’s difficulties in Gauteng. But those named denied the allegations.
The party has brought in its leader in the Free State legislature, Pieter Geldenhuys, to head the inquiry. Geldenhuys, a senior counsel, was appointed because “he has the necessary forensic skills”, according to a senior party source.
The other two members of the inquiry panel are Errol Moorcroft, chair of the DP’s federal executive and a long-serving MP, and Wessel Nel, a DP member of the KwaZulu- Natal legislature.
The panel is mandated to uncover the extent of the alleged fraud, apportion blame and recommend disciplinary measures and how to avoid any recurrence, according to senior party sources.
Senior party sources said they expected the inquiry to complete its work by the end of this month or in early February.