Probe launched into COPE missing funds

COPE's woes have escalated after the party's Nelson Mandela Bay office asked for a forensic investigation into the mismanagement of funds meant for a constituency office.

The Eastern Cape legislature discovered that despite receiving money and paying for a lease in Port Elizabeth's Southern Life Building, COPE did not have a constituency office in the city.

COPE's Nelson Mandela Bay chairman Mzwandile Hote said at least R102000 of taxpayers' money had been paid since last year to lease office space from property magnate Ken Denton without it being used.

Parliament recently called for a suspension of the party's constituency allowances in an attempt to recover misused funds.

Hote said the complaint was lodged by COPE's regional secretary Ryno Kayser in April, shortly before the party's Port Elizabeth national conference.

"We know there is a lot of instability in our party at the moment. We are prepared to take the risk of causing more instability if it means eradicating corruption.

"We promised to be a corrupt-free party and we will report corruption when we see it - even if it means reporting on our own members," said COPE's regional spokesman Nqaba Bhanga.

He said in addition to the probe into the Southern Life building, they also wanted three other members tasked with administrating the province's constituency offices to be suspended and investigated.

"If these members are found to be responsible for mismanaging or misusing our party's constituency allowances, then we will be laying criminal charges against them," said Bhanga.

He said the lease at COPE's current office at 140 Russel Road was paid by Mkhuseli Jack and that the Nelson Mandela Bay office had not received funds from the province since May last year.

"Since then we have been meant to receive funding for three staff members, an office manager, an administrator and a cleaner who we cannot hire because there is no money to pay them. We have not received money for office rental, telephone or fax, stationery and printing or other office equipment," Bhanga said.

"We want to know where the money is going and what is being done with it. Those who are responsible for misusing these funds must be held accountable," said Hote.

COPE, already struggling with instability while its leaders fight for the presidency of the party, was named the province's official opposition in last year's general elections.