The ANC is scrambling to raise about R200m before the end of the year to cover its debts and pay its employees, who are facing a bleak Christmas because the party owes them three months in wages.
Party employees worked throughout the local government elections despite not being paid for five months. Salaries for August and September were only paid last week after employees intensified protest action, launching social media attacks on treasurer-general Paul Mashatile.
Insiders say Mashatile will table a plan to raise the funds at the party's national executive committee (NEC) meeting next week.
The ANC has a salary bill of more than R12m. It owes its employees salaries for October, November and December. It also owes at least R140m in provident fund debt as well as recurring PAYE tax debt and undisclosed amounts in medical aid and UIF debts.
“We are working on that. We want to do away with all the salary debt, we want to clear it, and hopefully next year we will have a permanent solution so that there won’t be these problems,” said one party insider.
“We’re looking at all measures to improve our revenue but they are still not finalised ... it first has to go to the finance committee and then the NEC. So it will be finalised once it reaches those levels.”
Another NEC member said the R200m figure was confirmed by Mashatile at previous meetings.
Mashatile and party spokesperson Pule Mabe were not available for comment.
The ANC's declining electoral fortunes have depleted one source of funds as they now have fewer public representatives who donate a portion of their salary to the party.
The party also blames the Political Party Funding Act for its financial troubles, as some of its donors do not want to be known publicly.
The ANC last month recorded its poorest election performance in the local government polls after running a campaign on a much-reduced budget compared with previous polls.
It is not known where Mashatile will go to raise funds, but recent Electoral Commission of SA reports show that Chancellor House — the party's controversial investment arm — was its biggest donor this year. Its latest donation was R15m in August. Even President Cyril Ramaphosa has had to dig into his pockets to fund the party.
The party's Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg has a staff complement of 387 workers. The party also pays salaries to nine provincial secretaries, 54 regional secretaries and other officials based in provincial offices, including communications staff and administrators.
Mashatile previously proposed culling half the party's staff to cut expenses.
Remember, you are talking to a staff that has not had been getting a salary increase for three years
— ANC staff representative Mvusi Mdala
In June the ANC started — and later abandoned — a process of auditing its staff after discovering a number of “ghost workers” as it struggled to find money to pay salaries.
Since then staff have embarked on pickets outside Luthuli House and at the Saint George Hotel in Irene where the party holds NEC meetings.
Some staff members say they have had calls from banks threatening to repossess their cars and houses. Some say they have had to ask the ANC to send letters to the banks informing them that bouncing debit orders were not the employees' fault.
The Sunday Times has seen letters drafted by ANC general manager Febe Potgieter begging banks for leniency. In the letters, Potgieter tells the banks that the late payment of salaries is to blame for staff failing to meet their financial obligations.
“The resultant defaults have not been in any way the fault of our employees. We therefore request you to be lenient. We guarantee that [name withheld] will receive his/her arrear salaries by the end of this month, and will be able to settle his/her obligation to you. Please be assured of our consideration,” the letters state.
One employee told the Sunday Times the letters had helped in some instances but some creditors had not accepted the excuse.
“It helped in terms of leniency, but I was still penalised. Instead of evicting me, my landlord penalised me. But if I'm not paid now the next step is eviction,” he said.
The ANC salary bill is said to have ballooned in 2019 after more than 100 people were hired at Luthuli House. They included former ministers Nomvula Mokonyane and Malusi Gigaba, who moved to Luthuli House after being removed from the cabinet.
ANC staff representative Mvusi Mdala said workers would go into the festive season struggling to take care of their families and not sure how they would survive January.
He said many were being threatened by banks while policies have lapsed and their children's futures remain in limbo.
“Remember, you are talking to a staff that has not had a salary increase for three years. It literally means we are getting poorer every day, with the cost of living rising, petrol rising and other issues that are rising. Now on top of that salaries just stop coming,” Mdala said.
“Even if one wants to resign you can’t because you’re not going to get your provident fund. We have seen those who have parted ways with the organisation before — for some of them it took two years to get their provident fund.”
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