Central to Nyatela's case against DSAC is the establishment of Backstage South Africa.
The president of the South African Roadies Association (SARA) has accused Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) Gayton McKenzie of playing to the gallery and turning a blind eye to corruption within the department.
“Turning a blind eye and taking no action against rampant fraud and corruption in the department, as confirmed in the minutes of meetings between the Portfolio Committee and the Office of the Auditor-General. ) on July 23, 2024,” said Sala President Freddy Nyatela. The Citizen.
Founded in 1992 and registered in 1995, Sara is a not-for-profit training organization dedicated to improving and developing the skills and knowledge of young people in the technical and productive sectors in South Africa and the rest of the world.
Mr Nyasera accused Mr McKenzie of ignoring his oath of office and Section 16 of the Bill of Rights.
minister @SportArtCultur Gayton McKenzie should provide evidence of his open letter…and stop spreading lies… @SARoadies1 and @nyathelaf He ignored his oath of office to defend rampant corruption. @PresidencyZA @PublicProtector @RSA Parliament @City_Press pic.twitter.com/r2O8H6um3K
— Freddy Nyathela (@nyathelaf) October 8, 2024
“The Minister is deliberately discriminating against Sara and deliberately denying her the opportunity to be heard. Sara has requested a meeting with the Minister and has invited him to visit and tour Sara House, but to no avail. ”
Also read: Gayton McKenzie: 'It's going to be 12 people' [hip hop] If you hold a concert, we will pay for the concert.” [Video]
DSAC corruption allegations
Central to Nyatela's case against DSAC is the establishment of Backstage South Africa.
Backstage South Africa is a collaboration between Sara and the UK's Back Stage Academy, one of the world's leading live events and technical production schools.
If the partnership goes through, such schools will provide education to South African youth, with curricula ranging from short-term courses of a few months to long-term courses of several years up to master's level.
In 2019, the UK Backstage Academy welcomed a VIP delegation of South African dignitaries from DSAC to its Production Park campus in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
The delegation, led by DSAC's then Director General Vusumuzi Mkhize, spent four days in the UK, visiting production parks, meeting key stakeholders and learning more about how the Backstage Academy is shaping up. I gained a deeper understanding of how the organization evolved into the organization it is today.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Sara and DSAC committing the government to provide R18 519 060 in funding for the establishment of the school in 2022.
As EFF we warned you to do your due diligence and not rely on authorities for the truth, but you ignored that warning. Just like they lied about SARA and exposed you that you don't know what's going on in your department, I know all the facts about SARA You need… pic.twitter.com/PIgcjErvVJ
— Simply Eugene (@EugeneMt) October 17, 2024
However, president Sara said the organization had only received the first batch of R8,720,000 for the 2022/2023 financial year.
The memorandum is The Citizen is also in possession of the document, dated July 25, 2022, and signed by Nyatela and Mkhize, who was then still the Director-General of DSAC.
“The Ministry and the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Arts, Culture, Promotion and Development, Dr. Cynthia Khumalo (Acting Director-General), have breached particularly Article 6.10 of the signed attachment,” Nyatela asserted.
The aforementioned clauses address reporting obligations, deadlines, and agreed time frames for project completion.
Mr Nyatela claimed that Sala had compiled the necessary reports agreed to in the memorandum of understanding, but said DSAC acting director-general Khumalo had refused to provide further funding to Sala.
“This unfortunate act was caused by abuse of power, disregard for the constitution and jealousy,” said an outraged Nyatera.
Ms Nyatela said the matter was currently being advanced between the Public Protector and the DSAC Portfolio Committee.
“Sarah also asked the Ministry of Higher Education and Training for support,” said President Sarah.
DSAC's communications team agreed to respond. The Citizen I had a question, but I couldn't meet the requested deadline.
Also read: President Cyril Ramaphosa approves investigation into Limpopo’s Mapungubwe Arts Festival
missed opportunity
For the past 16 years, SARA has been a SAQA accredited training course and entry level on-the-job training program run by the Skills Education and Training Authority (Seta).
“The Department’s actions have deprived and continue to deprive young Africans of much-needed technical ‘live skills’ skills, employment opportunities and access to a better future for their entire country.” .”
Read now: Limpopo Gospel Experience supports homegrown talent amid wasteful spending probe
