'Sarafina-style' production R22m

2009-11-25 12:05

Cape Town - A R22m Sarafina-style theatre production, arranged under former housing minister Lindiwe Sisulu, needs to be investigated by the Auditor-General, a Democratic Alliance MP said on Wednesday.

A parliamentary reply from Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale revealed on Tuesday that the theatre production, for the human settlements department in the 2008/09 financial year, cost R22 569 656 over three phases of production.

"The funds were spent on 58 performances of the play, along with the associated production, logistical, translation and DVD recording costs," Butch Steyn said.

"Also included were costs associated with scripting and 'public mobilisation'. Notably, the cost of R22.5m is even more than the health department's Sarafina II play, which cost R14m, or R19m adjusted for inflation, back in 1996."

Steyn said the human settlements department faced an enormous backlog, including the more than R1bn needed to fix poorly-built RDP houses.

"How could the ANC government possibly have seen this as appropriate expenditure?" he asked.

The R22m costs contributed significantly to the enormous 195% overspend of the department's advertising budget in 2008/09.

"While the department's total budget for all marketing and advertising was R20.3m last year, it ended up spending a total of R60m. The R22.5m spent on the play alone, was enough to exceed the budget.

"This suggests that the play itself has gone significantly over budget, or was possibly not even budgeted for, and I will be submitting further parliamentary questions to further investigate this matter.

R22m already wasted

"The Auditor General also needs to look into the award of this tender, since we are dealing with such an enormous overspend."

It is "simply inconceivable" that any government department would see it fit to spend such a huge amount of money on a theatre production, Steyn said, adding that R22m is enough to have built RDP houses for another 420 families on waiting lists.

"It is too little, too late, for the department to say that they've stopped the production. The R22m has already been wasted. We need to identify who was responsible for sanctioning it."

Sisulu, as former minister, must have known about the expenditure, he said.

"An investigation by the Auditor General urgently needs to take place, and I will also forward this matter to the public protector, as we did in 1996 over the Sarafina II scandal."
Sexwale's special advisor Chris Vick said the minister was not in a position to comment specifically on the expenditure. Sexwale had however, promised his management and staff "not to allow expenditure of this sort".

"The production in question is no longer running, and the minister of human settlements has specifically stated to his management and staff: 'This sort of expenditure will not happen on my watch'," Vick said.

"In addition, the minister has issued a firm directive across all branches in the department for cost-cutting and to ensure, as he put it, that the department gets maximum value for every cent spent. Fiscal discipline is being applied, and applied rigorously."

Vick said expenditure on advertising and marketing in this financial year had been cut to an absolute minimum.

"Thanks to the measures already introduced, and a change in communications focus - making greater use of face-to-face meetings, and working to get editorial coverage rather than buying space - savings of approximately R8m have already been achieved in this financial year. Further savings are expected.

"It is also a well-known fact that the minister has ensured savings for the public purse in a range of other areas - using his own car, for example, and flying economy class when travelling by air."

- SAPA