Iqbal Surve says the ANC asked for his donation - and hasn’t returned the cash yet

Sekunjalo, the company owned by controversial businessman Iqbal Survé, on Tuesday said it had not yet received back the cash it donated to the ANC.

It added that, as far as it was aware, the ANC had already spent the cash.

“There has been no formal communication to Sekunjalo from the ANC Western Cape regarding the return of the donation. On the contrary, we have been advised by ANC officials ... that the money has already been disbursed to all the regions for the express purpose of why it was donated,” Sekunjalo said in a statement.

This came after the ANC in the Western Cape said it would return the donation, which is believed to be around R1m.

Acting chairperson of the ANC in the province Khaya Magaxa said it would have been wrong for the ANC to take money from Survé and his companies while the commission of inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation was still ongoing.

Speaking to TimesLIVE on Tuesday, Magaxa said the decision to return the donation was in line with a resolution the ANC took at its national conference in December 2017 for party leaders to distance the ANC from any form of donations that seemed to be questionable.

"We appreciate Dr Iqbal as a long-serving member of the ANC. He is one of us, but the reality is his name and his company are implicated in the looting of the PIC," added Magaxa.

"We would be benefiting in our election campaign from that money. The PIC is pensioners' money. We can't take it."

But in a twist, Sekunjalo claimed that it was the ANC that had asked for the money from the company.

“It should be noted that our donation came as a direct result of the request from the ANC Western Cape for donations for election day food parcels and logistics for volunteers,” Sekunjalo said.

The company claimed that the instruction to return the funds had come from deputy minister of finance and chairman of the PIC Mondli Gungubele. It added that Gungubele was on a mission to tarnish the image of Survé and Sekunjalo.

Sekunjalo said it wanted to meet with the ANC following the elections to discuss the matter.