The funding approval of several companies owned by musician and producer Arthur Mafokate will be discussed at the upcoming National Arts Council board meeting this week.
Dr Sipho Sithole said the board would have an update on how Mafokate’s four companies had got approved for the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) by end of the week.
Speaking to Newsroom Africa yesterday, Sithole said since the new board started work in January, it was not aware of Mafokate’s multiple applications.
“We expect the acting CEO, Julie Diphofa, to give us a full report. She will update us on what the investigation revealed. This is on our agenda this week and we want to pronounce on it. We owe the public that answer on how we [are] going to deal with it.”
The matter was brought to the public’s attention by fellow artist Eugene Mthethwa a week ago when he questioned if it was an oversight or the NAC board was turning a “blind eye”.
Last week, music legend Sello “Chicco” Twala wrote an open letter to Mafokate criticising him for wanting to benefit from PESP and other Covid-19 related relief funds while his company was doing well.
Mafokate would not comment on the funding when Sowetan approached him for comment.
Sithole said: “Had we have been at the helm at the NAC during the over budget situation, we would have approached those companies that had more than one applications to withdraw some of those applications. We were not aware, we did not pay attention. What we could do is to seek legal advice on what would have been our options to adopt as council knowing what we know now."
Sithole said he was not aware if Mafokate’s companies had already received payments.
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