SARA approaches Information Regulator to compel Gayton McKenzie to grant it access to the Auditor-General of South Africa Backstage Academy South Africa Audit Report
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
The South Africa Roadies Association (SARA), the Newtown based Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), which trains youth from mainly disadvantaged backgrounds in technical skills for live events has laid a complaint against Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie for what it claims is the Minister and his department’s refusal to share with SARA the signed final report by the Auditor-General of South Africa on Backstage Academy South Africa.
Backstage Academy South Africa is a project being spearheaded by the organisation, which once established will witness the organisation upgrade its course offering to higher qualifications in collaboration with the internationally reputed Academy of Live Technology, based in the UK. The establishment of the academy has however stalled over a dispute regarding money that DSAC has paid to SARA that it says has not been accounted for so far, claims refuted by SARA. SARA has therefore in recent months made a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to DSAC, requesting that the department share with the organisation the Auditor-General of South Africa’s audit findings on the Backstage Stage Academy South Africa. The Minister and his department, SARA claims, have not fully complied with the request, forcing SARA to approach the information Regulator of South Africa to intervene and for the minister and DSAC to furnish SARA with the report.
CITYLIFE/ARTS has seen a letter signed by McKenzie addressed to SARA in which he seems to be granting SARA’s request.
“We refer to your request dated 17 February 2025 for access to records in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA). After considering your request, we are pleased to inform you that your request has been approved….,” part of the letter reads.
But SARA in its complaint to the Information regulator of South Africa claims that the Minister and the department have not fully complied with the PAIA request, citing the fact that the report they have been granted access to by the Minister said to be from the Auditor-General of South Africa is not signed, and therefore not acceptable to SARA, and therefore is asking the Information Regulator of South Africa to compel the Minister and DSAC to furnish the organisation with the final signed Audit report of the Auditor-General of South Africa.
This latest development in this dispute follows SARA’s PAIA request first to the Auditor-General of South Africa to furnish the organisation with the final signed report on Backstage South Africa.
However, in correspondence seen by this publication addressed to SARA and signed by the Auditor-General of South Africa, the Auditor -general of South Africa indicated that indeed an audit of Backstage Academy South Africa was conducted at the request of DSAC, and a signed final report was handed over to DSAC and it was up to the department to grant or not grant access to SARA to the report as custodians of the report.
“I would like to bring to your attention that the visit to SARA was part of DSAC’s 2023-24 audit, specifically focusing on transfers and subsidies granted to beneficiaries. Any findings and recommendations from this audit would be contained in management reports drafted for DSAC’s management to provide opinions, guidance, advice, and recommendations for their internal reporting purposes…. As these management reports were drafted specifically for DSAC’s internal purposes, and contain opinions, guidance and recommendations for their management, the subject matter is more closely connected with DSAC’s functions than AGSA. I am therefore transferring your request to DSAC’s information officers in accordance with section (1)(b)(1) of the PAIA….. This letter therefore serves to inform you that I am now functus officio in respect of your request, given the transfer to the information officers of the DSAC, who are, under the PAIA, best suited to decide on the Request,” part of the letter dated December 4, 2024, signed by the Auditor-General of South Africa Tsakani Maluleke, addressed to SARA’s lawyers reads.
However, in a letter signed by Dr. Cynthia Khumalo, Acting Director-General of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, dated February7, 2025, DSAC seems to suggest that the department indeed has a signed final report from the Auditor-General of South Africa.
“The department wish to advise that the information mentioned in paragraph 2.2 and 2.3 of your letter, are documents received from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) unsigned. The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (the department) does not dispute the fact that a signed final report was issued to the Executive Management of DSAC by the Auditor-General of South Africa, however, same cannot be shared with the Requester as it contains confidential information or rather audit findings of other stake holders.”
Freddie Nyathela the president of SARA confirmed to CITYLIFE/ARTS this week that the organisation has indeed laid a complaint with the information regulator against DSAC and McKenzie in connection to the PAIA request to access the Auditor-general of South Africa’s audit findings on Backstage Academy South Africa.
CITYLIFE/ARTS approached Mckenzie for comment through his spokesperson Stacey Khojane and Khumalo through DSAC’s Head of Communications Zimasa Velaphi. At the time of publishing, both of them t had not yet come back to us. We will however update the story incorporating their comments when we receive them.