The mindblowing sums KwaZulu-Natal is going to fork out on the South African Music Award (Sama) ceremony have been revealed.
The taxpayer is paying an eye-watering R28 million for the extravaganza in Durban next month -- and it's all come at the cost of a youth employment programme.
Organisers of the event reportedly initially claimed it would cost R8 million. However, figures contained in the Economic Development and Tourism Affairs' cost breakdown document for the event arrive at the staggering sum of R28 million.
The document includes the following breakdown of payments which, among others, total R28 million:
- Six influencers will be paid R70,000 each
- Gift bags given to guests will cost R3 million
- R2 million for a red carpet for guests
- A dinner party costing R6.5 million
But it is how the provincial government is planning to pay for the ceremony which is raising eyebrows.
ActionSA leader in KZN, Zwakele Mncwango, has challenged the department and portfolio committee chairperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela to explain how they arrived at R28 million figure.
"What is more concerning is that the provincial treasury has been forced to freeze employment posts from the Stheshanathi programme," said Mncwango.
Stheshanathi is a provincial programme which employs young people from all over KZN, and the freezing of posts will effectively cancel it.
The spending on the Samas has caused concern in the provincial treasury, which is questioning why so much money is being spent on the event when the province is struggling financially.
In a three-page document, Finance MEC Peggy Nkonyeni notes her concern about where the money will come from. She also questions the expensive influencers.
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Meanwhile the eThekwini Metro has announced that they will inject R25 million into the Awards budget. The announcement comes in a week that the metro decided to retrench over 3,000 workers from the Public Employment Programme, a presidential youth empowerment project, stressing financial issues.
EThekwini Metro spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the metro expects a R63 million cash injection into the city's GDP because of the event.
MEC for Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs Sboniso Duma's spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said the news that the province will be spending R28 million on the Sama awards were "all lies" and a politically manufactured fabrication.
"We can confirm that around R20 million was suggested as part of a three-year partnership. More than R250 million will be injected into the provincial economy over the next two months in this year alone."
He said the amount will also be used to market KZN and its municipalities to other provinces.
