The Angel Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the upliftment of young people in the Heidedal community, held a meeting at Dr. Blok Secondary School in Heidedal on Sunday afternoon to offer explanations on matters they have been requested to clarify regarding its financial affairs.
According to the foundation, Gregory Werner, chairperson of the Heidedal Drug Awareness Campaign (HLDAC), challenged the foundation to account for matters he picked up on that through a Facebook group which he allegedly manages on the social media platform. In a series of posts, Werner called into the question why the foundation is still using a bank account which allegedly belongs to one of the foundation’s board members, as well as from where the foundation had received its R590 000 donation as per the foundation’s financial statements, among other things.
The foundation’s team took the chance to stand in front of community members to clarify some of the issues they have been accused of through a verbal and PowerPoint presentation.
Starting with the issue of the foundation’s bank account being in a board member’s name, Chairperson of the Foundation, Angelique Kemp said the foundation took a board decision at the time to allow for this as it was unable to open an official bank account at that stage.
She further clarified that the foundation now has an official bank account with Standard Bank, in its own name.
Moving onto another issue as per Werner’s Facebook posts, Kemp also clarified the issue of the R590 000, saying a donor had given it to the foundation and then requested that the foundation is audited by an independent chartered accountant to ensure that the foundation was in good standing.
She went on to say that she is disappointed with Werner’s methods. She feels as if it is a personal attack as he had obtained the foundation’s private information by using the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and then posted this on social media, which, according to her, is not allowed by the law.
Kemp added that Werner, and others he lobbied to campaign against the foundation in light of the accusations, had made personal attacks and threatened her as well as others in the foundation with court procedures. She said this is wrong because rather than posting this information on Facebook, he should have written to the Minister of Social Development noting his concerns, to which the minister would have responded, giving Kemp and the foundation four months to correct the issues noted by Werner as in his Facebook posts.
“So basically, this member decided not to write to the minister but to rather go to social media. He went public with our documents, and I’ll tell you why it hurts: it’s the same as when someone obtains your banking details or private information and then posts it on Facebook. He could also have gone to our financial officer, Daphline Ewertse if there were things he was not impressed with,” Kemp said.
She further revealed that PAIA officials at the Department of Social Development are unhappy with Werner’s revelations of the foundation and posting information relayed to him on social media. “They are not impressed because he keeps on ignoring their firm instructions,” Kemps said. She also revealed that the foundation’s board members are seeking legal counsel on the matter as they do not intend to take the allegations levelled against them lightly.
Werner was not present at the meeting, which Kemp said is a reflection on his character as she believes that he should have at least attended the meeting as someone who had instigated the matter and brought it to the community’s attention. She accused Werner of hiding behind social media to make compelling points, which have torn the community in half, while he then stands on the side and watches on as a conflict between the two sides erupts.
Meanwhile, Werner says he did not show up to the meeting on Sunday as the foundation’s agenda of the meeting was to clear its name and not engage in a confrontation with him.
He also says he has noted the “slanderous” comments made by Kemp as per a live video placed on her Facebook page, which was taken while she was speaking yesterday and says he had hoped that no insults would be hurled at him.
He says all he wants is for the foundation to explain discrepancies he and another member of HDLAC, Luke Fortein, picked up on.
– PULANE CHOANE
