ANC councillor pays back stokvel money

Embattled ANC Eastern Cape Ndlambe councillor Mbuyiseli Yali, accused of stealing R92,000 from a local stokvel in Port Alfred, has paid back the money after his own party ordered him to do so.

ANC Sarah Baartman regional secretary Johannes Hobbs said the ANC regional executive committee (REC) instructed Yali, 37, to pay back the money.

He returned the funds on Friday with the help of council speaker Vivian Mapapu and ANC PR councillor Monica , who apparently made contributions from their own pockets.

However Yali, the ward 7 councillor, is not off the hook as members of the Masakhane stokvel club have refused to drop the fraud case against him and are demanding outstanding interest on their monthly contributions.

Yali will appear before the

REC on Tuesday.

Hobbs said: “The REC perceives that the matter borders on the integrity and code of conduct of the ANC and would like to apologise to them.”

Eastern Cape provincial police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender confirmed the investigation was ongoing.

The case was opened by most of the 26 members of the stokvel club at Nelson Mandela township police station in Port Alfred on December 21.

This was after Yali, who was the stokvel’s treasurer, said he lost the money in a car accident while coming back from drawing the money from the bank on December 15 – the day members were due to get their dividends.

Speaking to the Dispatch on Monday, Mapapu said she paid R44,777, Mateti paid R10,000, and Yali covered the rest from his pocket and also forfeited his share in the stokvel club.

Asked why she paid the money, Mapapu said: “He is a colleague of mine and a child. I am a 63-year-old with four children who might one day find themselves in a similar situation.”

Yali said: “I don’t want to comment about this as I said to you before in the first article.”

Called for comment, an angry Mateti said all questions should be addressed to Yali.

Stokvel member Asonge Nyendwana, 49, said Yali's payment was not enough as the members were expecting R153,000 – an amount which members said included the interest.