Iqbal Survé’s ANC election donation offers new twists

Read in Daily Maverick: Swerve on Survé: R1 million donation falls foul of ANC factional strife

 

The ANC in the Western Cape has suspended its provincial treasurer, Maurencia Gillion, over the returned R1-million donation by controversial businessman and media owner Iqbal Survé just a few days before the 2019 national and provincial elections. That donation would also be investigated, the party said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, her suspension was made public by the party’s provincial working committee (PWC) after it had a meeting to discuss the deployment of party members within the Western Cape legislature. The party will go into the legislature for the third consecutive time as opposition members after the DA retained the province during the national and provincial elections on 8 May.

Gillion’s suspension will not affect any legislature list, as she was on the province to the national list, but, because the ANC dropped seats in Parliament, she did not make the cut.

Speaking on her suspension, the party said the PWC “took a decision to summarily suspend the membership of the provincial treasurer while this matter is being thoroughly investigated”.

On Wednesday morning, after the ANC had released a statement on Gillion’s suspension, alliance partner the South African Communist Party (SACP) released a statement on the issue:

“As the party, we are surprised and worried by the defiance of comrade Gillion by acting against the decision taken on the 7th May 2019 to return the money as donated by Dr Survé. Therefore, as part of the post-election assessment, we call for the forensic auditing of the ANC organisational finances... Furthermore, the SACP believes while the movement was focusing on the campaign, some elements were busy sabotaging the good work. Hence, their contribution was to fight for the control and distribution of election resources for purposes of funding their factional activities.”

The statement added: “It is against this background there is a need to probe the reasons why on election day in the metro, hard-working volunteers were given stale food.”

Previously, the Sekunjalo Group said it would hold a meeting with the PWC after the elections to discuss the return of the donation — which was made the weekend before the elections and returned within 48 hours. DM