The DA has called for answers after an official responsible for the controversial Beads and Multi Genre Music Festival was last week promoted to acting Director for Special Projects within KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DoSAC).
The information was revealed to the DA by a reliable departmental source, who also claims that the appointment was made by KZN DoSAC Acting Deputy Director General, Lindiwe Gwala despite the fact that the post is already occupied.
The Beads and Multi Genre Music Festival made headlines in April after the DA exposed that it had turned into a R4 million booze-fuelled bash for government officials and their relatives. This after they were allegedly given vouchers of up to R6 000 to exchange for alcohol.
The incident allegedly led to the axing of former MEC, Amanda Bani-Mapena after both she and Acting DDG, Gwala were both clearly identifiable in a video that went viral.
To add insult to injury, the Department has failed to table a report on the so-called booze bash to KZN’s Sports Arts and Culture portfolio committee on two occasions despite requests from the Chairperson. The DA will insist that this is done at the next meeting.
This department lurches from one wasteful event to the next. Just weeks after the booze bash, it hosted another costly event – this time at the ICC, where artists performed to empty seats. At the time, the DA uncovered that heritage association, Amafa, was used as a disbursing agent to pay for the event, topping up the payment for artists.
Clearly, the R4 million allocated to performers was not enough for dodgy officials within this department to claim their share. The DoSAC has also failed to account to the portfolio committee on this, to date.
It is clear that the vultures have taken over this department. The DA calls on MEC, Ntuthuko Mahlaba to take control. The relevant reports must be tabled before the portfolio committee and officials who continue to fleece taxpayers’ money must be removed without any further delay.