Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota suspects the forensic investigation he is calling for into the possible fraud in his party’s finances “ruffled a few feathers” and may be behind a spate of public attacks against him.
Lekota, who is fighting for Congress of the People’s presidency with his deputy Mbhazima Shilowa ahead of the party’s national congress in May, told journalists at a press conference on Wednesday that there was a need for a full audit so that “the truth could come out”.
“There’s an urgent need for a forensic audit into all the resources that Cope has received,” Lekota said.
“Public funds were allocated to Cope after the elections but I have yet to see a budget and how such funds are being employed, if they are being employed at all.”
Cope, which had been dogged by faction fighting over the past week, received more than R20-million from the Treasury after winning three parliamentary seats in last year’s elections.
Call for audit ‘rejected’
Lekota said Shilowa, who was the chief whip and accounting officer of the party, should have by law appointed an auditor two months ago to have the party’s accounts in order by April.
“I called for a forensic audit into all the accounts of Cope so that the truth can come out, but that was rejected.”
Lekota said he had made a “belated attempt” to appoint an auditor, Anton Louw, in March.
“That ruffled feathers in some quarters,” he said.
On Monday, Cope’s youth leader Anele Mda released a statement accusing Lekota of behaving like the party’s “Messiah” and adopting a mob approach to disrupt party conferences.
Lekota said he suspected Mda’s insults could be as a result of the investigation he called for into a R580 000 tender to place Cope’s branding in Parliament.
He said a company Siyoyo Logistics, owned by Cope’s Youth movement secretary Malusi Booi, had apparently won the contract without there following proper tender prpcedures.
“I was alarmed by this because I felt that a certain transgression of the law might have happened.” – Sapa