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By Lorna charles 
1 hour ago
Durban – The Pietermaritzburg Community Social Action Agency (Pacsa) has closed its doors after more than 40 years of human rights work due to misappropriation of funds within the organization.
As news of the closure was made public this week, fired staff from the Pietermaritzburg Community Social Action Agency (Pacsa) told The Mercury that the closure was due to massive misappropriation of funds and not lack of of funds as alleged by the board.
The group of former staff members who spoke on condition of anonymity said they were intimidated by messages from the board, demanding their silence on the alleged fraud and embezzlement.
A senior staff member, who asked not to be named, said: “A senior finance / human resources manager was found to be embezzling funds for the years 2015 to 2017. We believe there are millions, at least R3 million in three years.
“We have a very detailed application process to authorize payments and I picked it up and the manager involved told me that the director had authorized it (the payment). Our regular auditors didn’t collect anything and if it weren’t for that irregular payment related to a service provider’s bank account, which was actually one of this manager’s accounts, we would still be in the dark. I noticed other irregular internal transfers between donors and company accounts and that set off alarms, ”he said.
The staff member then informed the then manager, expecting immediate action. “The board was informed, but there was more frustration. A month later we learned that the staff member involved was suspended pending an investigation. However, this suspension was with full payment and still in the office with access to all online bank accounts. ”
The senior financial manager had allegedly taken money out of a primary donor account at the time of his suspension. “Within a few months, staff were aware that hundreds of thousands of rand in donor funding were missing. However, our hands were tied, as she was still employed with a salary and access to bank accounts, ”said the frustrated staff member.
Another former finance employee said: “We had proof of what happened and we had found the bank accounts that the funds went to, they were at least a dozen different private accounts of the staff member involved. There was the immediate dismissal of a former senior manager who was under investigation for fraud worth R20,000. The organization’s policy is quite clear on fraud and theft, but this was not done. As far as we know, a criminal case was being investigated, but as a staff we received no comment. Many things could have been avoided, including the financial crisis for the organization which has now caused it to close its doors and vulnerable communities to lose access to our programs, ”he said.
The audit resulted in a second forensic investigation which revealed that a total of R3.3m had been embezzled.
John Inglis, former Pacsa president said: “I am no longer on the board and have not been for a while. Unfortunately I have asked and no one on the board is willing to speak, ”he said.
However, a source close to Pacsa’s board confirmed allegations that at least R3m of funds from a major donor were misappropriated.
“It is terribly disappointing that the organization was broken by the actions of greedy officials who had a high level of trust in them. As with any corruption, it is the poor and marginalized who most need support who have been compromised and abandoned, ”said the source.
Joan Kerchhoff, 83, a co-founder of Pacsa with her husband Peter, was saddened by the “unfortunate way everything turned out well.” “I worked at Pacsa many years ago and recently resigned from the board. We did a great job in the Pietermaritzburg communities and covered a wide field with socio-economic rights and our barometer of the basic food basket that brought up issues of the poor, gender justice, youth development and HIV. I was in contact with the staff and Pacsa has been doing an excellent job for a long time. Fraud and theft make me very sad; obviously the donors will withdraw, ”he added.
The Mercury
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