Overview
- Minister Gayton McKenzie dissolved the National Arts Council (NAC) governing Council with immediate effect, removing all council members from office.
- The NAC’s acting chief executive and acting chief financial officer will continue day-to-day operations and will report to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture while a new Council is appointed.
- McKenzie directed DSAC to investigate procurement and governance concerns, citing expenditure on external recruitment fees and a reported purchase of about 18 iPhone 17 devices that cost roughly R1 million and asking for referrals to oversight or prosecutorial authorities if misconduct is found.
- Staff and unions are calling for full forensic probes and for senior managers to be suspended, a demand reinforced by a protected strike over unpaid performance bonuses for the 2019/20–2021/22 financial years that the minister said prompted the action.
- The decision follows years of scrutiny of the NAC, including correspondence from the Office of the Public Protector and parliamentary criticism that have raised long-standing concerns about corruption, governance and the council’s stewardship of public arts funding across South Africa’s nine provinces.