Independent Newspaper Limited

Members of the Tshwane branch of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church leave the Pretoria High Court. Photo: Masi Losi

The Tshwane branch of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is embroiled in a legal wrangle with its mother body, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in SA, over concerns that the mother body’s finances are in disarray.

The Tshwane branch and its treasurer, Dr Mandla Manganyi, asked Pretoria High Court Judge Sulet Potterill on Tuesday to declare that the synodal executive committee failed to comply with its obligations to maintain proper internal control of its finances.

They want the court to order that PricewaterhouseCoopers conduct a forensic audit of the mother church’s financial affairs.

Church leaders and members of the congregation packed the court, listening to the arguments pertaining to issues which lie close to their hearts, as a big part of the church’s income is derived from its members.

Manganyi, in an affidavit, said this matter pertained to financial administration and accountability of the church, particularly that of the synod and its executive committee. It is the case of the Tshwane branch that there has been maladministration, or a failure to properly administer, account and to report properly for many years.

According to Manganyi the church’s chartered accountants were also of the opinion that the finances were in disarray.

A detailed report was furnished by the auditors, the court was told, in which “a host of serious problems” were explained. The auditors stated it was not possible to confirm that what was received by the Church office from members was eventually banked.

It was further reported that there was insufficient and incomplete budgeting and that “overspending is rife, without proper records of when and to whom monies were paid”.

The report recorded that the church did not have detailed records of salaries paid, except for a monthly list of net amounts.

“No detail is available in regard to tax deductions and the like,” Manganyi said.

Various problems arose about salaries, most pertinently the underpayment of salaries of long- serving employees.

“More startling,” he said, “is the fact that problems also arose regarding the payment of pensions.” Many members had not received their pension since their retirement.

According to Manganyi, the problems noted in the financial statements for the period ending March 31, 2010, caused discontent with the branch members.

“It is unacceptable for members of the church to have such a continuous lack of financial control and failure of administration, to be foisted upon them, year after year,” he said.

Branch members eventually passed a motion of no confidence in the management of the church and eventually decided to turn to court for help.

Titus Mobbie, secretary-general of the mother church, denied all these allegations.

He also questioned Manganyi’s legal standing in being a party to the application.

He said the church in all had more than 400 000 members and that Manganyi was not the only member.

Regarding the allegations of financial mismanagement, Mobbie said: “I deny that there is financial impropriety which engulfed the highest office of the church.” He challenged the applicants to prove this.

In terms of the church’s constitution, the question of financial accountability of the church fell outside the scope of matters which a presbytery might deal with.

In any event, Mobbie added, the Tshwane branch was represented in the synod executive committee and the failures the applicant was attributing to the mother church must thus also be the failure of the applicant.

Proceeding. - Pretoria News