Johannesburg – The African National Congress (ANC) on Thursday said it would be meeting with First National Bank (FNB) to seek clarity on its reported investigation of the authenticity of the membership of former Eskom boss and new MP Brian Molefe.
In a statement, the ANC denied having any knowledge of an investigation into Molefe's membership as suggested by media reports.
"The ANC is neither aware of any such investigation nor has it requested it," said the ANC.
"Since 2016, following reports of our structures, the ANC has been engaged in an ongoing process to strengthen the integrity of our membership system working together with FNB as our bankers, and dealing with complaints and disputes as they arise."
"The ANC will be meeting with the FNB as part of this ongoing process and will seek gain clarity on the unfortunate public commentary in relation to its account with the bank and one of our members."
This comes after media reports said FNB was investigating the authenticity of a stamp on Molefe's ANC membership form.
ANC leaders in Madibeng produced Molefe's paid membership application forms from 2011 up to 2015 as evidence that he had been a member in ward 29 Madibeng – this after another ANC branch in Pretoria claimed the former Eskom boss was their member.
The ANC said it initiated the process to identify and rectify weaknesses in its membership system as part of preparations towards the National Policy Conference and the 54th National Conference to be held in June and December of this year respectively.
"This process is being undertaken as a matter of general application without regard to any single individual or case but rather with the intention to improve the ANC’s overall management of our membership process," the ANC said.
"Any efforts to subvert ANC policies, including the collaboration in fraudulent activity relating to collection and reporting on membership fees, are identified, loopholes closed and stringent measures put in place to safeguard the validity of our process."
Auditing of membership numbers at ANC branches occurs prior to ANC conferences. Molefe, who was nominated by the North West, was sworn in as an ANC MP on February 23.