Johannesburg - Suspended EFF CFO in Gauteng Wiekus Kotze has accused party leaders Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu of ruling with an iron fist and abusing the party’s funds for self-enrichment.
Kotze, who was suspended five months ago, said he was sanctioned for upholding one of the party’s seven cardinal pillars, which is about uprooting corruption and work for a clean administration.
“My suspension by the leaders of the EFF has been utterly without basis and illegal,” Kotze said on Tuesday, addressing journalists in Sandton.
Sushi King Kenny Kunene sat beside him and presided over the media briefing. Kunene said Kotze had approached him for support in the face of his troubles against Malema and Shivambu.
Kotze said his “crime” was questioning the financial practices of the EFF which he said “any is exactly what any good financial officer would do”.
He said his appointment as the EFF’s chief CFO gave him access to all the accounts of the EFF nationally and provincially. He added that the party’s financial transactions were not done in line with the Public Finance Management Act as 80 percent of the transactions were made without invoices.
“In the two months I was in head office, I quickly realised that there was no proper financial system in place, nor was good practice followed,” Kotze said, adding that his troubles started when he started questioning the financial irregularities.
“I insisted that that the accepted accounting standards be followed at all times. This intervention was soon rejected and I found myself demoted to the Gauteng legislature about two-and-a-half months later.”
Kotze also claimed that Malema used the EFF finances to fund his R16 million bill with the SA Revenue Service (Sars). He said Malema had received a R500 000 from the EFF’s trust account to pay for his bills.
He said he had since opened a case of “financial mismanagement” against Malema and other EFF leaders. He said he now feared for his life and his family.
“When I joined the party, I believed I was joining a political vessel for the future…Now I fear for the future of my children and men like Julius and Floyd are not a small reason for that,” Kotze said.
Malema responded in a tweet that the EFF did not have a CFO, but Kotze insisted he was appointed in that position.
Independent Media