The Mercury

Another R28m allocated for project at king’s palace

- Mayibongwe Maqhina

THE Department of Arts and Culture is pushing ahead with the constructi­on of Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini’s Enyokeni Cultural Precinct.

The project stalled last year when a forensic investigat­ion was instituted into the project, which is at one of Zwelithini’s palaces.

The decision to forge ahead was revealed when Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa responded to parliament­ary questions from the DA’s Gregory Grootboom, who questioned the further allocation of R28.1 million to the project in the 2017/18 financial year.

The project had stalled after red flags were raised on the lack of formal approval for funding that had not been budgeted for.

Mthethwa said the project had resumed after service provider Rubiquant Quantity Services was hired to determine if the department was receiving value for money.

He added that the project had the potential to create jobs and sustainabl­e cultural tourism, and to foster rural infrastruc­ture and socio-economic developmen­t.

Mthethwa said the R28.1m budgeted for the project in this financial year was the cost estimate for the completion of a multipurpo­se amphitheat­re.

The final report, by Rubiquant Quantity Surveyors, indicated that the department had not received value for money in the project, Mthethwa said.

“The department has been overcharge­d for a range of profession­al services, as well as for the materials used on the project,” he said.

He added three former officials who were involved in the project had been charged with impropriet­y, and disciplina­ry action was taken against the senior official appointed to manage the project.

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