The Gauteng department of arts, sports and culture has spent over R17-million to wine and dine revellers at gala dinners in the past three financial years.
This is according to a written response by the department in the Gauteng legislature following questions raised about its expenditures to MEC Morakane Mosupyoe.
The department spent a chunk of this money paying suppliers for the gala events and award shows for the Gauteng Sports Awards.
The suppliers included caterers, decor, florals, and companies that organised media launches.
In her response, Mosupyoe stated that of the R9.6-million that was allocated for the awards in 2023, only R1.8-million was paid to the actual recipients, with the remainder going to gala event suppliers.
In the 2021/2022 financial year, only R1.7-million of the R8-million spent during the awards went to the award winners.
Athletes continue to struggle
The DA slammed this, saying the department was benefiting suppliers at the expense of starving athletes and the sports fraternity.
“Gauteng athletes struggle to access sporting facilities for training and nurturing local talents, yet the Gauteng department continues to squander monies meant to uplift athletes at gala events,” said Kingsol Chabalala, the DA member of the legislature.
The department spent R5.8-million in the 2021–2022 financial year and R7.8-million for the 2022–2023 term on the gala events.
Service providers that invoiced a large chunk of the money in the three years are Ngrande Trading (R998 000), Victoryplus Projects and Services (R939 300), Phaka Sebotja (R990 000), Leonb Holdings (R997 250), Dream Florah (R789 000), Maletsedi Holdings (R953 800), MJ & LB PTY LTD (R980 000), and the Gauteng Sports Confederation (R7 754 000).
Said Chabalala: “It is concerning that service providers appointed by the department to organise gala events received outrageous payments.
“This indicates that the department’s priorities are misaligned and financial management is lacking, as the money did not benefit those it was meant for but a few business entities.”
He added that his party will table follow-up questions to Mosupyoe in the legislature to ascertain what the millions paid to service providers were spent on.
Culture of reckless spending
“We will also continue to put pressure on the MEC to review the budget allocated for the awards and consider utilising cost-effective measures for events such as the announcement of finalists and adjudication,” said Chabalala.
“The DA government will end this culture of reckless spending and using hardworking athletes as an excuse to loot government funds.
“We will put systems in place to ensure every cent is accounted for and used for programmes that benefit Gauteng residents, not on wining and dining.”
