Over R100 million worth of heritage monuments are still not operational with no benefits to residents

Note to editors: Please find attached an English soundbite by Kingsol Chabalala MPL.

Over the past eleven years, the residents of Gauteng have been expecting the full functionality of the Women’s Living Monument, Boipatong Monument, and the Kagiso Memorial which remain not fully operational.

These monuments have cost the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) over R100 million, yet they are not benefiting the residents of Gauteng.

The Women’s Living Heritage Monument was initiated in 2012 and was meant to be completed in 2015, but the construction of the facility was only completed in August 2018.  However, some of the heritage work is yet to be installed. Delays in the completion of this project have had a financial impact as the initial budget of R151 861 075.59 accrued to R205 693 734.18.

The Boipatong Monument and Youth Centre were initiated in 2011 and were supposed to be completed in 2012 but were only completed in November 2015. The initial budget was R32 572 833.00 which accrued to R35 199 212.5.

The Kagiso Memorial was built in 2014 and was opened in 2016 with a budget of R39 501 852.00 and is still not fully operational.

The unnecessary delays by the department in the completion of these monuments are denying our youth access to empowerment and up-skilling opportunities which could be offered by these facilities.

Furthermore, these facilities have the potential to boost local tourism and attract investment to grow the local economy. By so doing, they create employment opportunities in our townships.

The DA demands that the Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR), Mbali Hlophe must ensure that these monuments are fully operational as a matter of urgency. MEC Hlophe must conduct an audit on the current status quo of these monuments and provide a comprehensive plan to ensure that these monuments are fully operational and deliver services to our people. The DA will not sit by and allow MEC Hlophe to waste such precious monuments that are meant to benefit our people.

 

 

Gauteng artists and athletes’ livelihoods ruined while MEC Hlophe wastes R105k on corporate gifts

 Instead of providing much-needed grants to artists and athletes who lost their livelihoods and were forced into unemployment during the Covid-19 lockdown, the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) has increased its expenditure on corporate gifts by 1804% in the 2020/21 financial year. 

There are still many artists and athletes in the province who are struggling to make ends meet and the utter lack of consideration and sympathy by this department in terms of priorities is unacceptable. 

 This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Mbali Hlophe in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to MEC Hlophe, the department has spent R105 725.00 on corporate gifts for the 2020/21 financial year, 19 times more than the R5553.00 spent in the 2018/19 financial year. 

Since the 2015/16 financial year, the department has only spent R5553.00 during 2018/19 and R105 725.00 during 2020/21, while there was no money spent in other financial years. In total, the department has spent R111 278.00 for the past six financial years.

This money spent on corporate gifts in the 2020/21 financial year could have been used to pay 17 athletes and artists R6000 each as part of the Covid-19 relief grant. It could have gone a long way to ease the pressure off artists and athletes during these trying time as the industry has been severely affected by the lockdown restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While we understand the importance of corporate gifts, however, considering the social and economic impact of Covid-19, the department should not have overspent on corporate gifts and considering the suffering of residents during this time, the money should have been channeled in accordance with the department’s core mandate. 

The DA will not hesitate to hold MEC Hlophe to account for department funds to be allocated according to priorities. 

 It is high time that taxpayers’ money is spent wisely to benefit our people who are in dire need of financial support.

 

 

MEC Hlophe spends millions on virtual events yet fails to deliver Covid-19 relief funding to Gauteng athletes and artists

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng notes with great concern that the Gauteng athletes and artists who applied for financial assistance from the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) as part of the relief fund have not yet received these funds.

There have been unnecessary delays and excuses with regards to when these funds will be allocated to the rightful beneficiaries.

The applications for relief funding were opened on June 2020 and were closed on 26 June 2020 and the payment process was supposed to have begun in July 2020.

In October last year the department sent SMSs to all Gauteng Relief Fund applicants apologising to the applicants for the delays in processing their applications. The department also stated that the outcome of the Gauteng Relief Fund was in the audit phase.

The SMS also stated that the relief funding was supposed to be released on 30 September 2020 and will now be released by no later than 30 October 2020.

It is now 11 months of the national lockdown and thousands of Gauteng athletes and artists are still awaiting relief funding yet the Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR), Mbali Hlophe continues to spend millions on virtual celebratory events.

MEC Hlophe spent R429 985,00 on a Human Rights Day virtual programme and continues to spend on many virtual programmes yet she fails to provide relief funding to financially struggling Gauteng athletes and artists.

The DA calls on Premier David Makhura to initiate an urgent investigation to ascertain why there have been delays in processing these funds.

MEC Hlophe should be held accountable for these delays and should it be found that there is any element of corruption or officials are simply not doing their work then the Premier must hold the MEC accountable.

In addition, an urgent plan must be devised to ensure that these athletes and artists who have applied for relief funding are paid without delay.

Past experience has shown that where there are delays such as these, there is a corrupt element involved.

Gauteng’s Liberation Heritage Route: 3 years in planning

The Gauteng Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture’s (SRAC) “planned” Liberation Heritage Route is still pending despite the project being initiated three years ago.

According to a written response by the MEC to a DA question on the Liberation Heritage project, only 75 out of 110 sites have been researched and submitted to the Provincial Heritage Resources Authority in Gauteng (PHRA-G) for consideration and declaration.

It is hard to believe that approval for sites to be considered and declared by PHRA-G can take between three to four years to complete.

68 of the 110 sites identified will be part of other “planned” 12 Liberation Heritage Routes in the province.

It seems this project is yet another vanity exercise for the MEC, Faith Mazibuko, and her department. No material has been published on the project and zero infrastructure related items have been scheduled for construction.

It all seems to be “in planning” with no action.

The budget and scope of the project is also questionable. In the 2014/15 financial year a total of R286 000 was spent on printing and distribution of notices calling for nomination of sites in the province. In the 2016/17 financial year a mere two workshops on the project with all municipalities were scheduled, costing R112 000.

The DA will refer this project to the Gauteng Legislature Standing Committee of Public Accounts for further investigation and oversight.

Heritage plays an important role in our society, in remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives in order for us to enjoy freedom today.

MEC Mazibuko continually over-promises and does not deliver in this department.

Takeover of FNB Stadium will impact service delivery

The decision by the Gauteng Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture (SRAC) to take over the management of the FNB Stadium will have a negative impact on service delivery.

The current management arrangement of FNB Stadium has saved the public R492 000.00, since its inauguration and has brought in subsidiary economic opportunities to the City of Johannesburg in excess of R1.6 billon.

The current management of FNB Stadium is a full financial risk management agreement between Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA), which is a private company, and the City of Johannesburg.

SMSA is not funded by government nor is any management fee paid by government. SMSA retains 63% of the profits produced from activities that happen at the stadium and the City receives the remaining 37 % of the balance.

The annual management cost of the FNB Stadium is R54 million a year. Through its risk management agreement, SMSA saves the City of Johannesburg’s R54 000 000 per annum in operating fees.

Other World Cup facilities such as the Moses Mabhida and Peter Mokaba stadiums managed by government are running at a loss and costing the taxpayer’s money.

An attempt to re-configure this arrangement will have a negative impact. If the stadium is to be solely managed by government, the City of Johannesburg will lose a source of revenue and there will be less funds available for service delivery projects.

The money saved on managing the stadium and the economic benefits to the City of Johannesburg are fed back into improving the lives of the City’s residents and rolling out more services to those in need.