MEC and HOD of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation must account for costs of Macufe Debacle

Issued by David van Vuuren – DA Finance Spokesperson in the Free State Legislature
08 Jun 2023 in Press Statements

Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by David van Vuuren MPL

The MEC and HOD of the Department of Sports, Art, Culture and Recreation in the Free State should be held personally liable for the unlawful appointment of C-squared Consumer Connectedness to organise the 2022 Macufe Festival.

On 31 May 2023, Judge Ilse van Rhyn declared that C-squared should be paid the R3 344 000 they were owed by the Department. This comes after the Department argued that since the appointment of C-squared was declared unlawful by Judge P Loubser in October 2022, they were not responsible for the payment owed to the service provider.

The Department appeared before the Free State Legislature’s Public Accounts and Finance Committee but argued that it could not be resolved since the matter was still being litigated. Despite the ongoing litigation, the Department notified C-squared that they would pay them in November 2022.

They did not inform the service provider that the payment was subject to a final judgment following the outcome of an appeal. The MEC and HOD are responsible for incorrectly sending out a payment notice to C-squared and must be held personally responsible for the financial implications, the payment of R3 344 000, the interest on the amount and the costs associated with litigation, as ordered by Judge van Rhyn.

The DA will continue to drive this issue in the Public Accounts Committee to ensure that the responsible parties are held to account.