Zuko Komisa
- Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has dissolved the National Arts Council (NAC) board with immediate effect following a protracted labour dispute.
- The intervention follows an ongoing protected strike over unpaid staff performance bonuses spanning three financial years between 2019 and 2022.
- Alongside the dissolution, McKenzie has ordered an investigation into questionable spending on external recruitment fees and council members’ mobile devices.
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has dissolved the board of the National Arts Council (NAC) with immediate effect.
The Department announced the decision on Tuesday, pointing to a long-running labour dispute concerning employee performance bonuses for three financial years between 2019 and 2022. The ongoing standoff resulted in a protected strike, causing severe financial hardship for the affected workers.
Minister McKenzie revealed he had given the council a clear framework and ample opportunity to resolve the crisis via a formal letter sent to the chairperson on 22 April.
Asserting that the institution could not fulfil its mandate to serve South Africa’s arts sector whilst consumed by governance failures, the Minister exercised his statutory authority under the Act to dismiss the board when they failed to act.
Beyond the immediate staffing crisis, McKenzie raised serious concerns regarding recent procurement choices made by the NAC management.
Specifically, the department is questioning high expenditures on external recruitment fees and mobile devices for council members. McKenzie noted that these costly acquisitions are difficult to square with the institution’s claims of severe financial constraint.
The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture has been instructed to launch a formal investigation into these procurement irregularities. In the meantime, the process to appoint a replacement council will begin straight away.
Responding to the axing, the NAC stated that it respects the Minister’s decision and remains dedicated to maintaining operational stability during the transition.
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