The ANC's elections chief in the Western Cape, Ebrahim Rasool, has made startling claims against his provincial comrades, suggesting they kept him in the dark regarding a R1m donation from controversial businessman Iqbal Survé.
In an interview this week, Rasool said he was led to believe that Survé would be making a food donation to the ANC to assist the party's election campaign in the province.
The ANC announced on Tuesday that it was returning the R1m donation from Survé's company, Sekunjalo, just 48 hours after receiving it, saying it was inappropriate to accept money from an entity implicated in allegations of plundering the Public Investment Corporation.
Rasool said he was shocked to find journalists in attendance at a function where the donation was made. The ANC does not generally invite the media when it receives monetary donations.
Rasool said he was given the impression that the ANC would be getting food donations from Survé's other company, Premier Fishing, not cash.
"Donors had been donating in kind to the ANC and mostly donating food that the party cooked for its volunteers in the province as it no longer bought them KFC," he told the Sunday Times.
Rasool said he was asked to deliver a vote of thanks by ANC provincial treasurer Maurencia Gillion at the event and was told nothing about the R1m. "I didn't know about the R1m."
Rasool said the national leadership of the ANC agreed with a view taken by ANC Western Cape chair Khaya Magaxa that the money be returned to Survé's firm.
He said Magaxa convened a meeting on Tuesday where it was agreed that the donation be returned.
But by then, the funds had been transferred across the ANC's five Western Cape regions by Gillion.
"I was very surprised when I saw the statement from Survé that seemed to know the exact details about what was discussed and who was in the meeting," said Rasool.
Sources claimed that Gillion solicited the donation from Survé. Rasool said she did not attend the meeting called by Magaxa.
It has also been claimed the money was solicited by a provincial faction aligned to ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, who is close to provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs.
But Jacobs denied any involvement in how the donation made its way, briefly, into ANC coffers.
"Between Ebrahim and Maurencia [Gillion], they accepted the money of Dr Iqbal," he said.
Gillion referred all queries to Magaxa...