After five weeks and two attempts, LifeLine Ekurhuleni has finally elected a board of 13 members.
Volunteers affiliated with the troubled organisation, as well as previous board members, gathered at the Russel Street offices, on April 26, during which members of the task team announced that they had successfully selected candidates from a pool of submitted CVs.
Calling the meeting to order, task team members Kenneth Phiri and Michaela Sunnasy said they were grateful to those who continued to support the process despite countless delays.
“We believe that we have selected the best candidates and that they possess the knowledge and grit needed to steer this organisation back on course,” said Sunnasy.
“Given that our role as task team members has come to an end, the newly elected board will be handed over to the Department of Social Development (DSD) where they will undergo the necessary training and vetting process. Once completed they will call a special AGM.”
Delays in the process
Electing a new board to serve LifeLine Ekurhuleni, which has been under administration since 2023, was shrouded in controversy when a DSD representative, who wished to remain anonymous, called for the March 19 meeting to be immediately adjourned.
He stated that according to the department’s, NPO and LifeLine constitution, the outcome of the AGM, which had been convened and chaired by Ndanduleni Ndou, the organisation’s social worker and acting director, will be nullified and deemed illegal.
“A meeting of this nature may not be convened or chaired by a staff member,” he said.
Desperately explaining the severity of the organisation’s ongoing financial crisis, Ndou indicated that DSD is its sole benefactor.
“We need to elect a new board as a matter of urgency. The staff at LifeLine have not received a salary since October. Our account to the CoE is more than R60 000 in arrears and other utilities, like the internet, are also behind on payment, which affects our ability to offer quality services to our community,” she said.
She said it was critical that a new board be elected in order for the organisation to submit applications for funding to the department, before the March 31 deadline.
Responding, the DSD representative said, “You are trying to do damage control. Your primary focus is submitting your application for funding in time. No matter the decision, you will remain non-compliant and be denied funding.
“Focus on holding a legitimate AGM, remaining compliant and able to submit your application next year. Get your house in order.”
A task team, consisting of Kenneth Phiri, Lulama Lupindo, Michaela Sunnasy and Sharon Muhandi was established to scrutinise the financial reports and oversee the selection of candidates.
Candidates a no-show
With only the election of a new board on the agenda, the April 22 meeting was postponed to the 26th after none of 11 individuals who submitted their CVs for the role were not present.
At the time questions were raised by four prospective board members, who were present, claiming that their names had been omitted from the candidate list, despite submitting the relevant documentation on time.
Ndou weighed in and explained that the NPO had requested the Benoni City Times, as well as its sister publications to publicise the most recent AGM date as well as a call for board member submissions. The notice was published on the publication’s website on April 3.
“After the publication, we noted a technical error relating to our email address,” said Ndou.
“We were not receiving CVs and therefore requested that it be sent via WhatsApp. It now appears that not all the eligible applicants were informed to do so thus, leading to four candidates not being included.”
She said that all efforts would be made to obtain these documents for consideration.
DSD takes charge
Chairing the April 22 meeting, the DSD representative explained that the department has elected to act as custodians to oversee the election process, ensuring that all protocols adhere to its NPO guidelines.
“We need to ensure that all due processes are followed to the letter. This organisation and its board must be legitimate,” he said.
Satisfied with the outcome of the process, task team members Phiri and Sunnasy urged interested parties to submit any questions to the board in order for these matters to be addressed during the yet-to-be-announced, special AGM.
Questions can be sent to lifelinebenoni@gmail.com.
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