The founder of Cope4Hope, Gauteng businessman Hennie Kieser, has been accused of abusing the Congress of the People’s name to raise funds for party president Mosiuoa Lekota’s campaign for re-election.
Kieser is being investigated by Cope for running an organisation that uses the party’s name without the authorisation of its leadership. He is also accused of taking membership forms from Cope’s head office without authorisation and conducting a membership systems audit without the party’s mandate. The report of the latter was leaked to the media last week.
Cope’s woes deepened this week when talks between the party and the DA over future electoral cooperation ground to a halt because of Cope’s internal strife. In addition, Cope could lose out on a R20-million party allocation from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) if it misses the deadline for audited statements.
Three weeks before the party’s crucial elective conference, some leaders have questioned Kieser’s loyalty to Lekota, a relationship they claim dates back to the latter’s stint as defence minister. Kieser’s company, Desert Wolf, designed and manufactured steel trailers for the South African National Defence Force after being awarded a R3.9-million contract that ran from 2003 until 2008.
Last week Cope’s congress national committee launched a probe into Cope4Hope and its activities. A task team comprising MP Nolitha Vukuza, national treasurer Hilda Ndude and youth leader Sthembiso Khanyile was appointed.
Kieser’s membership has been suspended for the duration of the probe. Interviewed this week, Lekota and Kieser denied knowing each other through the SANDF.
Lekota said he had never dealt with tenders while defence minister. ‘I know of his [Kieser’s] company because they did business with defence and Denel, but that’s about it. ‘Anybody can look at my background and his background; there will simply be no record of me interacting with Hennie Kieser.” He denied that anyone was raising funds for his Cope presidential campaign.
Kieser said he had only met Lekota after Cope’s formation. ‘I’ve never had any dealings with Mr Lekota up until he launched the party. My dealings have been only with Armscor officials.”
A senior Cope member in Gauteng, who asked not to be named, said Cope4Hope was definitely raising funds for Lekota. ‘This campaign is an attempt to boost Terror’s image. The only condition on which you can access funding from [Cope4Hope] is if Terror is the speaker at an event.”
Cope’s national organiser and Lekota’s one-time deputy in the defence ministry, Mluleki George, said he had met Kieser for the first time when Lekota brought him to Cope offices, and was concerned about the relationship. ‘We hear that this organisation is collecting money on Cope’s behalf, but we don’t know what type of an organisation it is,” said George.
Kieser denied raising funds for Lekota’s presidential campaign. ‘Every cent I used was from my personal account. I provided the venue for the events; it was at my physical address where we held them.”
He said Cope4Hope promoted the party and helped people understand Cope’s policies. ‘There were no secret meetings; all the information is on the website.”
Vukuza told the Mail & Guardian: ‘Cope4Hope is not known in the party and is not recognised. But it carries the Cope name — [so] we have to know what it is and whose mandate it carries.”
Lekota said he had also not known about Cope4Hope until a complaint was laid by Cope Gauteng. ‘They said Hennie Kieser had raised a lot of money in the name of Cope through this thing [Cope4Hope]. That allegation arose after a meeting that myself and Lyndall Shope attended in Hammanskraal.”
The meeting was apparently organised and funded by Cope4Hope. Meanwhile, Cope’s internal auditor resigned this week, raising fears that the party could lose R20-million in parliamentary funding for the 2010-11 financial year.
Insiders claimed that Cope would not finish auditing its books by the end of this month, when its first elective conference is scheduled. Parliament and the IEC require a clean audit before releasing parties’ annual funding.
DA federal chairperson James Selfe told the M&G that his party had placed all dealings with Cope on hold until it ‘sorts out its issues”. The DA has met Cope deputy leader Mbhazima Shilowa on parliamentary matters and Cope general secretary Charlotte Lobe on organisational matters, whereas DA leader Helen Zille has discussed cooperation with Lekota.
The DA had hoped to conclude discussions on cooperation by June to have enough time to prepare for the 2011 local elections, but this informal deadline is now in jeopardy.