THE Hawks and the public protector have started investigating National Arts Council officials.
This comes after artists staged a sit-in at the council’s building for 59 days.
At the centre of their fight is the disappearance of R300 million from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme which was allocated to artists.
The artists also complained that people who were not deserving, including five board members, received the money from the programme.
The sit-in forced the council to apply for an eviction order against the artists. The eviction order was subsequently granted, but it amounted to nothing as it was never effected. The artists finally vacated the building on Friday, 30 April.
They also lodged complaints with the Public Protector and the Hawks, which confirmed to Daily Sun that investigations were under way. According to the institutions, affidavits from the artists were submitted on Friday.
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Hawks spokeswoman, Katlego Mogale, confirmed that a case was opened against the council.
“Investigations are at an early stage and documents are being sourced from the complainants,” she said.
Oupa Segalwe, spokesman for the Public Protector, said they received the artists’ submissions.
According to Segalwe, the artists wanted transparency in the council process and finalisation of applications. “In addition, they want allegations of misappropriation of funds and conflict of interest involving some council members to be investigated,” he said.
“The Public Protector is preparing to kick-start the process in respect of the issues. Parallel to this, an investigation will commence tackling the underling issues.”
Council spokesman Tshepo Mashiane said: “We are not aware of these investigations, and up until then we will wait for both the Hawks and the Public Protector to contact us. The building is also not yet operational. Currently, we are busy getting quotations to inspect it so it is safe to use.”
