The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) is spending over half a million rands each month on the Silapha Wellness Intervention Programme. However, only a fraction of this amount is accounted for.
This was revealed by sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie in the National Assembly.
According to McKenzie, an amount of R507,120 is paid monthly to Workforce Healthcare. This is the company that runs the Silapha Wellness Intervention Programme.
Only R76k out of R500k is accounted for
Of this R507,120 only R76,690 can be accounted for. Workforce Healthcare was appointed in 2023 by McKenzie’s predecessor, Zizi Kodwa.
The company was tasked with assisting artists with mental health support, financial management, substance abuse treatment and legal advice, among other services.
At the time, Kodwa said: “There is a critical need for those who engage in the creative and sporting fields. Many of [them] do not have permanent employment or healthcare support for counseling services, education, and community support around well-being matters that heavily impact them.
“We have lost too many valuable people within the creative and sports communities, as they simply did not have access to the support that they needed. One life lost is one too many.”
No record of artists who benefited from the programme
McKenzie was recently asked by Parliament’s DSAC Portfolio Committee to provide a breakdown of the Silapha Wellness Intervention Programme’s running costs.
He was also asked to share the total number of individuals who have been assisted, as well as the type of assistance provided.
He responded: “The service provider was awarded a tender of R18,297,360 for three years.
“And the department pays a sum of R507,120.01 to the service provider each month for the Silapha deliverables as outlined in the SLA and project plan.
Salary breakdown
“The salary breakdown is as follows:
- Project Management: R25 550.00;
- Silapha Ambassadors: R17 500.00;
- Clinical Team Salaries: R33 640.00; and
- Total: R76 690.00
“The Wellness Intervention Programme has engaged and impacted 1 181 artists and creative professionals. This surpassed the department’s initial target of 800 within three years.”
Remaining R400k unaccounted for
However, it remains unclear how the remaining amount, which is over R400,000 each month, is being spent.
Sunday World approached the DSAC for clarity. However, the department could not explain how the rest of the money is being used.
They also failed to elaborate on what they mean by “engaging and impacting” artists. And they failed to reveal who the Silapha Wellness Programme ambassadors are or what their roles entail.
EFF member of parliament Eugene Mthethwa, who is part of the portfolio committee on sport, arts and culture, said he does not know anyone who has been helped by the Silapha Intervention Wellness Programme.
“The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture is spending millions of rands on artists, yet they still [take their own lives] and remain in distress. The question is: where does the money go?
“If the DSAC claims to have helped 1,181 artists, as they stated in their response, that means they spent about R13,000 per artist over the past three years. It would be interesting to know what kind of services these artists received. Unfortunately, I don’t know any artist who has been helped through this programme,” said Mthethwa.
