A war of words has started between Moshito Music Conference and exhibition directors and one of the board members, actor and producer Tshepo Ndzimande.
Nzimande is accusing the directors of wasteful expenditure and maladministration.
As a result he wrote a letter to the Department of Sports Arts and Culture asking them to investigate.
In his letter he complained about failure to properly appoint service providers which led to wasteful expenditure of public funds.
Wasteful expenditure of public funds
He wrote: “In the past year about nine meetings of the board have been convened. But no minutes of these meetings have been circulated. Both the 2022 and 2023 reports to the DSAC and other stakeholders have not been discussed or approved by the board of Moshito. Reports that have been provided after they were demanded are barely legible and incomplete. Service providers have been appointed and paid without the approval of the board. And prior quotes from alternative suppliers have not been obtained. Some of the payments appear to be excessive and details of the services provided have been withheld,” he wrote.
“The following payments appear to be irregular: Koftech – Marketing Collateral, Parktown Restaurant Catering, Queendom – Sound Hire, AS Frank Travel, Ambassadors fees, Production fees and allowances.
“Moshito has not provided an audit report or financial statements for several years, and no AGM has been convened. Income from other sponsors, for example SAMRO and KICK, have not been disclosed. It is requested that these matters be fully and properly investigated to verify alleged maladministration,” reads Nzimande’s letter.
His concerns ignored by board
He said it is his duty to bring these allegations to the department’s attention.
Nzimande told Sunday World that he has been raising these issues with the board and the Moshito directors. However, he was ignored.
“The reality is that, Moshito has not accounted for the monies used. Yet they keep getting money from the government. Last year there was no AGM, and a report without financial statements was sent to the department. The service providers that I mentioned in the letter never presented to the board. But they were appointed and paid nonetheless. This is against the PFMA and the department must investigate,” said Nzimande.
He was referring to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Department of Sports, Ars and Culture (DSAC).
Moshito board denies accusations, but fails to provide proof
But the spokesperson for Moshito, Nongelo Chiume, defended Moshito and described Nzimande’s claims as absurd.
“All our meetings [are] recorded and circulated in line with our internal resolutions. No payment made by Moshito to any service providers was made irregular. And there are contracts in place. The payments are for stipulated services rendered. A true board member would know this,” he said.
When asked about the report and financial statements, he could not respond. He also failed to respond whether the appointed service providers made presentations to the board or not.
He said the AGM could not be held because of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
Questions were also sent to the Department of Sports Arts and Culture, but they had not respond at the time of publishing.
