Families of deceased ANC employees are suffering because Luthuli House had not been contributing to their pension and provident funds for more than two years, despite making deductions from their salaries.
The Sunday Times has traced two families of ANC workers who died last year who have yet to receive pension payouts months after burying their loved ones.
These revelations come as the ANC is facing a financial crisis, even failing to pay salaries on time. The cash crunch has led the party to consider raiding parliamentary caucus funds to finance its election research.
The nonpayment of pension and provident fund contributions by Luthuli House has led to mistrust between the party's caucus in parliament and its employees after the party introduced a pension fund in March this year. Caucus employees say they have no proof that deducted funds were indeed paid to the fund administrator.
ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte told journalists this week the party was not broke. "We are struggling. Broke means that you have nothing at all. We have a cash flow problem because the funders that we traditionally relied on have stepped back."
Meanwhile, the families of Mduduzi Mvubu, a media specialist who worked in the KwaZulu-Natal head office and died in August last year, and Luthuli House staffer Babylon Xeketwana, who died in July, are still waiting for their death benefit payouts.
Mvubu's sister Lungi told the Sunday Times that the ANC has given them the runaround since last year.
When she made calls to a cellphone number she was given for liaising on the matter, a woman told her that the claims take time.
"Mdu died in August. It's almost a year, so it's really taking long and I don't know why. I last called in March, but the lady said she was busy and would get back to me, but she never did," she said. "There has been no money that came in."
Mvubu had three children, aged nine, 13 and 21; their mothers are all unemployed.
The mother of the youngest child, who did not want to be named, said: "They always say they are in a meeting when we call and never get back to us … The lady is always busy … I last called them in March."
A representative of the Xeketwana family had not responded by the time of going to press. Attempts to reach ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile failed.
Several sources at Luthuli House and ANC provincial offices say the party has, for at least 28 months, deducted provident and pension fund contributions from their salaries, but they recently learnt the deductions did not make it to the administrator.
We don't know where our monies are. If I die tomorrow, my wife may have to run from pillar to post looking for monies that I never signed for
— Caucus employee Mziwoxolo Daphula
This revelation follows a Sunday Times report two weeks ago that the South African Revenue Service had garnisheed funds allocated to the ANC by the Electoral Commission of SA, and took R17m in part-payment of the party's ballooning tax bill.
Two ANC staffers - one at management level - said they were made aware that the ANC was in the process of settling half of the ballooning provident fund debt. Insiders said the party promised to do so by end-May.
Mashatile told the national executive committee meeting last weekend that the party was considering retrenching 50% of staff.
In parliament, ANC caucus staff have taken their party to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration (CCMA) for entering into an agreement with a pension fund administrator without consulting workers.
After almost two years of being without a provident or pension fund, and despite repeated calls for engagement to find the best possible deal, ANC employees say they were informed only four days before the March payday that management had entered into a deal with Sanlam. The matter will be heard at the CCMA on July 3.
For one ANC constituency office employee, the deal could not have come at a worse time. "I did not understand what was happening. Suddenly I got less money and my family did not have food to put on the table," said the man, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation.
The Sunday Times has seen the March 11 internal memo which informs staff that the party was setting up a parliamentary caucus staff umbrella provident fund. It informs employees that the starting date is March 1 and shares details of the fund.
Caucus employee Mziwoxolo Daphula said this was not what staff wanted.
"It was done abruptly and staff was not consulted," he said.
Daphula, a National Education, Health & Allied Workers' Union branch secretary, said that at a meeting with management in 2019 it had been agreed that a national bargaining forum would be organised by the employer where provident fund administrators would present their products.
"Members said they don't want Sanlam, they would go and shop for their preferred provident fund — a suitable one that would give us the best returns," said Daphula.
He said staff never signed any documents authorising the deductions.
Sanlam's Avishal Seeth said the umbrella fund was requested by a financial intermediary to provide a quote on a provident fund structure.
"The financial intermediary acted on his mandatory instruction from the employer of members of the ANC parliamentary caucus staff. A quote was provided by Sanlam . and as a result of that, the Sanlam Umbrella Fund was appointed. Sanlam, as the product provider, does not get involved in any employee negotiations," he said.
Daphula said workers were anxious. "We don't know where our monies are. If I die tomorrow, my wife may have to run from pillar to post looking for monies that I never signed for."
At the CCMA, the workers want the transactions to be reversed and that proper consultation take place.
The ANC in parliament said it could not respond because the matter was before the CCMA.
It has also emerged that ANC head of elections Fikile Mbalula wants access to the party's caucus funds to fund election research.
Mbalula confirmed to the Sunday Times that the party was eyeing the caucus funds, saying: "The ANC looks at everything for funding and that includes the parliamentary caucus, there is nothing wrong with that.
"We will look at the implications of that and whether it is lawful for caucus to fund ANC research."
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