Just a day after KZN ActionSA wrote to him over the provincial government department’s plans to splurge R28m on a music awards ceremony, President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved swiftly to stop the exorbitant expenditure.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya on Tuesday confirmed that the president had spoken to KZN economic development MEC Siboniso Duma, cautioning him against using R28m of taxpayers’ money to sponsor the South African Music Awards within a constrained fiscal environment.
This comes after ActionSA provincial leader Zwakele Mcwango on Monday wrote to Ramaphosa to complain about the planned spending of public money on the Samas, scheduled to take place in Durban on the weekend of November 17/18.
Ramaphosa on Tuesday made a telephone call to Duma, ordering him to scrap the public funding of the Samas.
But Magwenya insisted that Action SA’s letter had no influence on Ramaphosa, saying the president had not seen it at the time of his conversation with Duma.
The president did advise MEC Duma against such spending in the interests of maintaining fiscal discipline.
— Presidential spokesperson,
Vincent Magwenya
Magwenya said, while MECs report to premiers and the president does not get involved in the day-to-day running of provincial departments, Ramaphosa felt the need to raise his reservations directly with Duma.
“The president did advise MEC Duma against such spending in the interests of maintaining fiscal discipline,” said Magwenya.
The move may cause serious headaches for the organisers of the Samas, who might find themselves in a scramble for new funding sources, three weeks to before one of the country’s biggest music awards functions.
Duma’s department is due to hold a press briefing on Wednesday, to among others, “deal with current issues that have been in the public domain.”
Ndabezinhle Sibiya, spokesperson for the department of economic development in KZN, did not respond to questions regarding the call.
Mcwango, on Tuesday, lauded Ramaphosa for moving with speed to stop “an intent to loot”.
“We appreciate that the president acknowledged our letter. We applaud his action to halt a clear intent to loot state coffers by his comrades through this awards ceremony.
“We are happy and will wait for the MEC to withdraw. It shows that working together, we can fix this country,” he said.
The department’s intent to fund the Samas has drawn condemnation from opposition parties.
The provincial economic development department had to request administrative transfer of funds from parts of the provincial treasury’s service delivery budget to to initially raise R28m but later R20m to host the South African Music Awards.
In his letter to Ramaphosa on Monday, Mcwango said: “Our objection to the EDTEA’s plan to splurge R28m on the Samas is rooted in the department’s intention to divert funds from other programmes, which lacks fiscal justification and is not in compliance with the necessary approval process from the provincial legislature.”
The awards are set for the weekend of November 17-18 at the Durban ICC.
Mncwango voiced concern that the eThekwini municipality had also planned to sponsor another R25m on the Samas.
“As further evidence of the inflated expenses to be borne by the residents of KZN, eThekwini municipality mayor Mxolisi Kaunda unilaterally committed an additional R25m to host the Samas, without seeking prior council approval,” Mncwango added.
Last week, the DA also wrote to provincial legislature’s economic development oversight committee chairperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela and MEC Duma to seek clarity on how they plan to spend R28m “on an R8m event”.
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