Exposé: NEHAWU’s Protest Against Pearl Bhengu Is a Smokescreen for Hidden Agendas 

The recent article and protest targeting Pearl Bhengu, CEO of Ithala Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), is not only misleading it is a textbook example of how successful Black women are undermined through innuendo, speculation, and politically motivated disruption.

When one reads the claims made by NEHAWU in their protest against Ithala CEO Pearl Bhengu, it becomes immediately clear: these are not the grievances of workers. These are *management and governance issues*, dressed up as labour concerns, and fed to whoever is leading this protest for reasons that have nothing to do with worker rights.

The record speaks for itself ,under Bhengu’s leadership since 2018, Ithala has achieved *financially unqualified audit outcomes year after year, culminating in a CLEAN AUDIT for 2023–2024. This is not a minor achievement, it is a public affirmation of sound governance, fiscal discipline, and strategic leadership. Clean audits are not handed out lightly. They reflect rigorous scrutiny of financials, asset management, and compliance. If buildings were mismanaged or funds misused, the auditors would have flagged it. They did not.

It begs the question : What is NEHAWU really protesting or who is abusing NEHAWU for political ends?

Their memorandum is riddled with vague allegations, speculative claims, and demands that fall outside their core mandate as a workers’ union. Labour unions exist to protect workers’ rights — not to orchestrate destabilization campaigns against executives based on hearsay and factional interests. If there are legitimate HR grievances, there are established reporting structures. This is not apartheid. Workers have a voice, and mechanisms exist to ensure fairness.This is not the NEHAWU we once knew and admired.NEHAWU was built on the blood, sweat, and sacrifice of workers who fought for dignity, fair wages, and safe working conditions. It was never meant to be a political battering ram for factional agendas or a front for elite manipulation. Yet here we are—watching a proud union being "abused from within", its name weaponized against a Black woman who has delivered clean audits, financial stability, and institutional integrity. Political pundits are asking - where is the "national leadership of NEHAWU" in all this? Why have they not clamped down on the KZN leadership for dragging the union into battles that have nothing to do with labour relations? Is this silence a sign of complicity,or worse, "personal enrichment"? Are union leaders being enticed by promises of influence, contracts, or positions once Pearl Bhengu is removed? We must ask the hard questions. Because if unions become tools of destabilization, the very workers they claim to represent will suffer. And if Black excellence is punished for doing things by the book, then the message is clear: competence is a threat, and corruption is the currency. For 3 decades workers had had a bitter life, does NEHAWU in KZN want to perpetuate that workers never get a chance of enjoying dignity, the dignity of not living in poverty.

The protest appears less about labour relations and more about "power politics" , about who controls appointments, who manages assets, and who holds influence. Let’s be blunt,the so-called allegations about under-utilised buildings, mismanaged properties, and tenant departures are "not labour matters". These are operational and strategic issues that fall squarely within the purview of executive management and board oversight. NEHAWU’s mandate is to protect workers rights ;not to audit infrastructure, dictate tenancy strategy, or speculate on asset performance.The language used —“gross financial mismanagement,” “strategic failure,” “decline in investment environment” — reads more like a boardroom coup attempt than a union memorandum. These are so obviously "talking points" of vested interests, not testimonies by any workers at Ithala. They’ve been "fed to the KZN NEHAWU leadership", likely by billionaire actors with vested interests in destabilizing Pearl Bhengu’s leadership and capturing the institution for their own gain. Let’s be honest, the position of CEO at IDFC is powerful. It controls billions in developmental finance. If that seat can be captured by someone pliable to elite interests, the financial rewards are immense.We must ask: who benefits from destabilizing a well-run institution? Who stands to gain if Pearl Bhengu is removed? Who is whispering in NEHAWU’s ear, stoking insurrection under the guise of worker advocacy? This is not just about Pearl Bhengu. It’s about the broader pattern of undermining Black excellence whenever it threatens entrenched white privilege. As long as Black leaders are enticed to fight each other, the people of South Africa will walk away with crumbs while the elite pocket billions.

 Pearl Bhengu has steered Ithala with discipline and vision. The "CLEAN AUDIT for 2023–2024" is proof, it did not fall from the sky it is her hard work. The rest is noise—manufactured, manipulated, and malicious.The financials say it all, loud and clear. Let us not allow cheap factional politicking to derail a legacy of competent leadership. Let us defend integrity where it stands.Let NEHAWU return to its roots. Let workers’ voices,not political scripts,guide its actions. Let us defend leaders who deliver, not destroy them to serve the ambitions of the moneyed elite. Don't fix something which is not broken.

issued 

By Professionals Forum of RSA Executive Chairman