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The Democratic Alliance has uncovered further wasteful expenditure by KwaZulu-Natal's (KZN) Department of Arts and Culture (DoAC), with the revelation that a staggering R2 million is being spent monthly on security at eight modular libraries in the province which are not yet open to the public.

The DA previously reported that during the 2020/2021 budget, it was proposed that an amount of R32 million be set aside for modular libraries within KZN’s KwaNzimakwe, Nibela, Kwankosi Khumalo, Kwakhetha, Mpembeni, Ntunjambili, Denny Dalton and Mfekayo districts.

Last year, KZN DoAC MEC, Hlengiwe Mavimbela, and her Head of Department (HOD) NP Chonco, stated in a reply to parliamentary questions by the DA that the libraries would be fully operational by the end of July 2021. Sadly, despite eight months having passed since then, nothing has happened with electricity and water not even connected yet.

The DA can see no logical explanation as to why these libraries are not in use yet. What we do know is that they remain incomplete despite funds being transferred from Treasury and paid to contractors and that – at the end of the day - it is the communities that are suffering due to lack of access to such facilities.

Had the DoAC hired a consultant to manage the infrastructure - and paid more than R8 million for services rendered - one would assume that this costly expertise would have expedited the completion of projects.

However, the use of consultants is far from ideal given that it is robbing vast amounts of money from the budget, leading to a situation where the Department has to top up projects financially to prevent yet another white elephant scenario.

What is astonishing is that the modular library at Franklin – which began construction much later - is already operational. This, without the so-called expertise of an infrastructure consultant.

Linked to this latest example of wasteful expenditure are the Department’s scandals when it comes to collusive tendering practices to the tune of R59 million and the illegal awarding of R7.1 million supposedly for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the pandemic.

The DA believes that the time has come for all DoAC audit reports to be made public. KZN’s people need to see for themselves how this Department is trying to cover up falsified transactions when it comes to the awarding of tenders and procurement of securities for libraries that are non-operational.

The DA refuses to stand by and watch million of Rands being unnecessarily wasted. The DoAC needs to be held accountable for its ongoing fraudulent activities. KZN Premier, Sihle Zikalala, needs to act fast and replace MEC Mavimbela.

Issued by Bradley Singh, MPL - DA KZN Spokesperson on Arts and Culture