Johannesburg - Confidential documents that belong to the SACP were found at a rubbish dump outside the retail store of prominent Limpopo businessman Steve Bosch.
Files containing minutes of meetings, non-collected party membership cards and a computer keyboard were among the items strewn outside Sizani Build IT store in Ladine, Polokwane, at the weekend.
A provincial party insider said the dumped documents had been kept at Bosch’s house in Plein Street, which was previously used as the SACP’s provincial headquarters.
After Soviet Lekganyane’s unceremonious resignation as SACP provincial secretary and the subsequent dissolution of his provincial executive, Bosch locked the interim party structure out of his house.
At the time, Lekganyane was ANC provincial executive committee member and housing MEC. Bosch had won contracts to build low-cost housing in Lekganyane’s department.
On Sunday, SACP provincial secretary Gilbert Kganyago said the party would seek legal opinion over the dumping of its material. He said after Bosch had locked his house, SACP material was never returned to the party.
“I think this was just a deliberate attempt to embarrass the SACP by exposing documents, unduly so, to people who are not supposed to see them,” said Kganyago.
Bosch’s house, which the SACP used as its offices until 2011, and the retail store where documents were dumped are kilometres apart. Bosch could not be reached for comment.
The documents include a letter written by SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande to Lekganyane.
In the letter, Nzimande asked Lekganyane’s provincial party leadership to help host 35 guests from different countries who were to attend the SACP special national congress at the University of Limpopo’s Turfloop campus in December 2009.
Nzimande also asked the province and its “institutions” to welcome international guests and ensure their stay was hospitable and warm.
According to the letter, this would include a welcome dinner, a “solidarity” dinner, a heritage tour and transport.
“Both dinners can be hosted by different institutions or personalities such as the premier, mayor or any other at different venues,” read Nzimande’s letter.
SACP national spokesman Alex Mashilo explained that the invitation to host the party dinners was extended to the premier and mayors as individuals, and not to the government institutions they represented.
“Normally, the premier or the mayor in the area where the event is taking place would do a welcome input.”
Lekganyane said he would not take responsibility for the dumped documents.
He claimed that when he resigned as party secretary, he had left everything in the hands of the former provincial leadership.
The Star