“Withdrawn” Council member attends National Arts Council meeting
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
In a new twist to the issue of whether or not the National Arts Council (Board) is properly constituted or not, it has emerged that a Council Member whose membership was quietly “withdrawn’ months ago was able to attend a Council meeting -latest October 2024.
Boniface Mazilazila withdrew from the NAC Council on April, 22, 2024 but still attended the NAC Council meeting on October 25, 2024.
This information has emerged from an affidavit deposed by the NAC at the South Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday, November 8, 2024. The NAC affidavit is in answer to the South African Roadies Association’s (SARA) affidavit that claims that the NAC Council as constituted is not in line with the law, and is therefore demanding that it be dissolved. This is in relation to the provincial representatives’ component of the NAC board that SARA argues were not appointed according to the prescribed procedures that require that they be appointed through a public and transparent process. The case is before the courts.
However in a letter which is part of the NAC’s affidavit signed by the former MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture in Gauteng Morakane Mosupyoe, seen by CITYLIFE/ARTS, Mazilazila was asked to withdraw from the NAC following revelation that he was not appointed following proper procedures. Mazilazila is a director: Creative Arts in the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, and after the 2024 General elections was reconfigured as department of (Education and Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, with a new MEC Matome Chiloane at its helm. Mosupyoe is currently Speaker of the Provincial Legislature.
The issue of having seat on the NAC while at the same time working as a civil servant was first raised by CITYLIFE/ARTS in an article whose headline is National Arts Council plunged into yet another controversy with a senior government official serving on its board published on April 12, 2024 and can be read here:
However in a register of the Council meeting, which is part of the NAC’s affidavit, it clearly shows that a person by the name of Boniface Mazilazila, attended the NAC council meeting on October 22, 2024, six months after he was requested to withdraw as a member of the NAC Council Member.:
.CITYLIFE/ARTS reached out to NAC for comment. The Interim Chief Executive Officer Julie Diphofa indicated that the arts funding agency was going to respond. However at the time of publishing they had not done so. When and if we receive their response we will update this story to include the comment.
UPDATE:
The National Arts Council contacted for comment on the continued attendance of Mazilazila, speaking through the Company Secretary Vincent Mashale the arts funding agency said there was nothing untoward about the ‘withdrawn’ Council Member attending meetings.
“In terms of the National Arts Council Act, 56 of 1997, as amended the Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture appoints the members of the Council (which include the provincial representatives). As such, only the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture can terminate the appointment of any Council member.
To date, Mr Mazilazila has not received any communication from the Minister terminating his appointment as a member of the Council. Hence he continues attending Council meetings,” he said.