The Port Elizabeth branch of the Businesswomen’s Association of SA (Bwasa) has closed its doors amid allegations of financial irregularities and a breakdown in trust between the local and national spheres.
The decision by the management and executive committees of the Port Elizabeth branch to resign from their positions comes just weeks before the annual BWA awards were due to be held.
Chair Heather Dutton said the decision to dissolve the BWA in PE had not been taken lightly, and only came after extensive engagement between attorneys for the local branch and those representing the national office.
She said reasons for the decision included:

A breakdown in communication between the local branch and the head office of Bwasa;
Suspected financial irregularities, including the delay of the December 31 audited financial statements without reasonable explanation;
A failure by head office to provide full transparency in respect of the financial status of Bwasa as at April 15, including a request for a full and detailed exposition of the organisation's assets and liabilities to ascertain if it was trading in solvent and liquid circumstances;
An unwillingness to disclose the names of the current board members of Bwasa; and
A lack of strategic direction...