Employees at the National Arts Council (NAC) have called on Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie to urgently place the institution under administration.
The staff are citing allegations of fraud, corruption, and financial mismanagement against its top leadership.
Letter details allegations
In a detailed letter dated July 18 2024, seen by Sunday World, the employees demand immediate suspension of former acting CEO Julie Diphofa and Acting Chief Financial Officer Reshma Bhoola.
The letter, which was leaked to Sunday World a year after it was sent, accuses the two officials of orchestrating the misuse of funds, manipulating internal systems, and ignoring clear conflicts of interest.
Frustrated by what they describe as a year-long silence from the department, the employees approached the esteemed publication directly to expose what they alleged was rampant graft within the NAC.
The letter alleges that Diphofa allowed companies with ties to NAC officials to receive funding under the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP).
One specific case, they alleged, involved an NAC partner, also a music adjudication panel member, who allegedly received R2-million in funding, raising serious conflict of interest concerns. When this was reported internally, employees claim Diphofa failed to act.
Deliberate sabotage of funding
Further claims include the deliberate sabotage of the NAC’s funding system.
The employees also made allegations against the IT manager, whose name is being withheld. The said manager created technical glitches during open calls. And this prevented certain applicants from submitting proposals successfully.
These technical issues allegedly ensured that only favoured applicants linked to NAC insiders were approved.
“There are instances where projects were funded even though they were not recommended by adjudication panels. For PESP 5, some beneficiaries were selected by the council despite not being endorsed by the independent panel. That’s why the NAC withheld the names of successful applicants to avoid scrutiny,” they alleged.
The letter also accuses Bhoola of transferring R65-million into a Corporation for Public Deposits (CPD) account without authorisation from either the NAC Council or the acting CEO at the time.
Dodgy transactions
Then-acting CEO Marion Mbina-Mthembu discovered the transactions and tried to enforce accountability. But she was removed, and Diphofa was appointed in her place, they said.
Sunday World has seen an affidavit supporting several of these allegations. We’ve also seen a copy of the letter addressed to McKenzie.
“This corruption has been reported to all the relevant authorities, including the Public Protector and the Hawks. But we’ve been ignored,” they claimed in a letter.
When approached, Mbina-Mthembu declined to comment.
“Unfortunately, I’m no longer part of the NAC, so I cannot comment on anything,” said Mbina-Mthembu.
In response to the allegations, Diphofa denied any wrongdoing. She said the individual who received R2-million in PESP funding was not involved in adjudicating his own application. She also defended the IT manager.
“Our IT manager serves the NAC with integrity.”
CEO denies claims
Diphofa explained that all applications are assessed by independent advisory panels. Final funding decisions rest with the council, she added.
She also addressed the R65-million transfer, claiming it was done in accordance with a National Treasury directive and was properly audited.
“There is nothing untoward in this transaction,” she said.
Diphofa said she was not aware that employees are calling for her suspension or that they want NAC to be under administration.
On the issue of non-disclosure of PESP 5 beneficiaries, she said the decision was made for safety reasons.
“The NAC acted on concerns from the sector about targeted robberies. That’s why we published project titles instead of individual names,” she said. She also noted that the decision followed consultations with sector bodies and the NAC’s own committees.
At the time of publishing, McKenzie had not responded to questions sent to his office.
