Johannesburg - An intricate web of theft, fraud, bribery and corruption at the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) has resulted in four senior officials being suspended in what the union said yesterday was an attempt to clean up the mess.
Ebrahim Patel from the SA Clothing and Textile Workers' Union and Senzeni Zokwana from the National Union of Mineworkers have been roped in to hasten the process.
While recent media reports have levelled allegations of corruption at top Nehawu management, the union has quietly suspended four senior officials accused of various offences.
Khumbu Magudulela, Nehawu's acting deputy general secretary, said yesterday that general-secretary Fikile Majola and treasurer Lindelwa Dunjwa would appear before a disciplinary hearing on September 19 and 20.
They were both suspended on full pay for alleged financial mismanagement.
Their suspensions followed those of Phumla Nkanunu, the union's national treasurer, and Tebello Mokoena, who it is claimed acted as an intermediary in setting up the union's funeral scheme.
Mokoena is alleged to have received a motor vehicle for arranging the funeral policy deal.
The suspensions were geared at restoring the union to a "healthy financial status that existed in 1999 when we had a surplus of over R11 million".
Magudulela said things went awry almost a year thereafter, when the audited financial statements showed the union had a deficit of R9 million.
"Our members could not accept that almost a year after being financially well off, we could be in the red. The central executive committee mandated us to conduct an investigation, which was headed by our president, Vusi Nhlapo."
Nhlapo has himself been in the news lately on allegations that he was drawing an astronomical salary of R500,000 from the struggling union.
Nhlapo has dismissed the allegations as unfounded.
Magudulela said it was unfortunate that an impression "is being created that we are on a witch-hunt. We have nothing against those comrades as we agree politically and ideologically. What we want is clean administration."
He said those suspended had been made aware of their rights and the union would not do anything to deny these to them.