“I would like to place it on record that the office is not closing in the near future. Crisis is a critical component in the fight for a democratic Zimbabwe, and therefore has many enemies working against it. These rumours are their handiwork,” said Jacob Mafume, the co-ordinator.
He said the coalition had recently conducted an audit of its accounts for the relevant period, and these were available for scrutiny.
“Copies of these have been lodged with our partner organisations and everything is above board,” said Mafume.
“The people who are in the office in South Africa are people of integrity who have contributed to the struggle in many ways, including the use of personal funds. It is ridiculous to suggest that they would take anything from the organisation.
“We are at a loss as to how to respond to such flimsy and unsubstantiated allegations and can only suspect sinister motives from the author, aimed at tarnishing the respected individuals in Crisis,” he said.
Mafume said there had been recent staff and leadership changes within the organisation, whereby people had moved on to other organisations where they hold influential positions. He said this was a testimony to the calibre of people Crisis continues to attract.
“Crisis Coalition by its very nature is a dynamic organisation where staff and leadership changes have occurred in the past and no doubt will continue to happen in the future. The people who have moved have done so with the blessing of the organisation and without scandal and the office will continue in its critical role of providing leadership to the struggle for democracy,” said Mafume.
Well-known Zimbabwean activist and author, Elinor Sisulu, who has worked for Crisis for many years, said she fully endorsed Mafume’s statement.
“I would go further to say that as a signatory to the Crisis bank account, these allegations of embezzlement are a direct slur on my integrity,” she said. Sisulu challenged the news agency that circulated the story, CAJ News, to supply evidence to substantiate their allegations.
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