Red Cross in financial dire straits

The South African Red Cross, the largest humanitarian organisation in the country, was struggling with a financial crisis that it hoped could be resolved within the next few weeks. If not, a wide range of aid projects would be jeopardised, the ‘Mail and Guardian’ reported on Friday.

Mandisa Kalako-Williams, vice-president of the Red Cross, was quoted as saying that the organisation’s fixed assets were in excess of its liabilities and it could call on its branch offices around the country, each of which operate autonomously, to assist with cash. The Red Cross also holds some investments in trust that will mature in July, according to the report.

Karien Polley, the organisation’s communications manager, told IRIN that the Red Cross had been in trouble since the 1980s. “The demand is just enormous. All our services are free of charge,” she told IRIN. She said one of the reasons for a lack of money was the fact that a new board which had been elected last October had placed a moratorium on expenditure until the finalisation of an audit they ordered at the beginning of the year.
However, the weekly newspaper said that the Red Cross was besieged by local creditors, the largest of whom was Standard Bank, where it held a significant overdraft built up over the years.

The ideal solution to the financial crisis, Kalako-Williams was quoted as saying, would be for the organisation to reach a satisfactory agreement with Standard Bank. Simultaneously, the Red Cross could embark on various fundraising activities, but this in turn would generate further costs, he said.