The cash-strapped South African Union of Journalists (SAUJ) lurched into further crisis this week with the abrupt resignation of its president, Sechaba ka’Nkosi, who alleges that the union is “reneging” on the interests of union members. But SAUJ general secretary Motsomi Mokhine maintains the resignation does not comply with the union?s constitution and is “not legitimate”.
This latest rift in the SAUJ?s leadership follows recent revelations that the union faces a severe financial crisis that could lead to its demise. The Mail & Guardian reported last month that the union office has been dipping into a fund intended for journalists in need. If the fund continues to be used for office expenses, it will eventually be eroded and the union will be forced to close down, according to Sven Lunsche, the fund’s principal officer.
In addition, basic financial controls are almost non-existent, acting treasurer Joel Avni told the M&G when details of the union’s financial woes emerged last month. “There is no record of where petty cash is spent, and blank cheques were being issued.”
Adding to the union?s financial stresses has been drastically reduced revenue from members’ subscriptions because of plummeting membership. At the same time expenditure on office running costs escalated in the past financial year to about R60 000 a month; and travel expenses for the president and national organiser more than doubled.
Ka’Nkosi confirmed last month that the union is not on a sound financial footing, but now says his departure has nothing to do with “financial issues. They’ve been there for five years.”
But “the union is not complying with its own constitution”, he says. “It is reneging on its duty to do things for the best interests of its members. The way things have been going, I felt it better for the union and myself to step down.” He declined to be more specific, saying that if he provided details he would himself be in breach of the SAUJ?s constitution.
Mokhine says that “any organisation would be seriously concerned about its chief representative resigning. I told Ka’Nkosi this, and that I’m very disappointed. But he has not complied with the SAUJ constitution’s stipulation that one month’s notice must be given. We wrote him a formal letter on Tuesday pointing this out and asking him to respond. He has not yet done so. We have the right to accept or repudiate his resignation.”
The union will hold a special congress on June 1 attended by its national executive committee and delegates from all branches to discuss the “leadership crisis” as well as finances, Mokhine says, and will deal with Ka’Nkosi’s resignation then.