The battle against HIV/Aids suffered a severe blow this week with revelations of managerial chaos and bitter infighting in the country’s largest Aids body, the Aids Consortium. As a result, large amounts of money from international donor agencies are at risk.
And in an extraordinary public display of the conflict, a breakaway group issued a press statement this week in the name of The Aids Consortium, resulting in confusion over who are the legitimate leaders of the body.
An internal audit in the possession of the Mail & Guardian recommends that the consortium’s executive director, now suspended, be retrenched ”on the grounds of fundamental incapacity” and that effective internal controls be implemented.
The Aids Consortium is an umbrella body representing 1 000 NGOs working to combat HIV/Aids. It receives millions of rands in funding from the European Union and French-based organisations.
Established in 1992, the consortium is a low-cost coordinating body that disseminates information and fights for the rights of people with Aids.
The report, by auditors Douglas & Velcich, finds that Mapule Khanye, the executive director for the past three years, has lacked leadership, financial and fundraising skills. She appointed consultants without following proper processes or duly considering cost implications, utilised funds from the European Union that had not been approved, and failed to ”institute proper procedures for reporting to the board”.
The report also says there has been a breakdown in communication among managers and other staff, and that Khanye showed a poor understanding of the way in which donors operate. It recommends that Khanye be retrenched on grounds of fundamental incapacity.
The report says the consortium’s financial crisis is so serious that it needs to ”buy in the vital management skills that are currently lacking and not spend any further resources on trying to improve the performance or capacity of the current executive director”.
Khanye told the M&G she knows about the report and is aware of its contents, but would not comment on its findings. She threatened civil action against the media and the Aids Consortium for linking her name with the allegations of mismanagement.
Khanye said the consortium had not laid any formal charges against her or instituted disciplinary proceedings.
She said a letter from the interim committee has reinstated her as director. ”The letter is on a letterhead from the consortium.” She intends to go back to work on Monday.
The consortium’s donor funding reports also come under fire in the audit report. ”The failure to meet the donors’ reporting needs is unacceptable from their point of view,” the report says, resulting in the consortium’s loss of credibility.
In a further sign of internal disarray, a group calling itself the consortium’s ”interim executive committee” released a press statement on Tuesday claiming to have disbanded the current executive committee at an emergency meeting held at the consortium’s offices on March 4.
But Mazibuko Jara, chairperson of the board, then issued a statement on the consortium’s letterhead, saying this interim committee has no power to speak on behalf of the consortium: ”Whoever these people are, they are mischievous and misleading the public,” his statement said.
This drew fire from Themba Mabuza, spokesperson for the ”interim committee”: ”Mr Jara failed in the organisation,” he told the M&G, claiming his committee is legitimate.
The M&G understands the infighting and mismanagement have concerned many donors. But Jara said: ”We have worked very hard for the past four months to keep funders and our members abreast of the investigations.”
He said the drama had not affected the way funders viewed South African Aids organisations.