MANYANE MANYANE
North West MEC for Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, Bitsa Lenkopane, has blamed the previous administration of the North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB) for the financial crisis at the provincial state-owned entity.
Lenkopane said NWPTB’s previous administration had spent millions which were never accounted for.
Lenkopane was responding to concerns raised about NWPTB’s financial status, as well as the entity’s failure to pay salaries at a press briefing on Monday.
She also responded to various concerns including her relationship with the North West provincial standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) and the dismissals of the acting CEOs.
It was also previously reported that the entity failed to pay subsidiaries, creditors and debtors.
Although the salaries were paid on Saturday, Lenkopane said her department had to sacrifice a R32 million meant to benefit the public and service delivery.
She said this was due to financial mismanagement under the NWPTB’s previous board.
Lenkopane blamed the financial instability on the participation in Mahika Mahikeng cultural event last year.
This was after the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation, requested a partnership with NWPTB.
The memorandum of agreement between the two parties was signed on April 16, 2024, and was expected to lapse in 2027.
The memorandum was established with the following intended objectives and purpose:
- To implement structured programs to develop communities surrounding the provincial conservation estate under the ambit of NWPTB nature reserves
- To implement structured programs to develop and enhance the conservation, tourism, arts, culture, sports and recreation within the province
- To implement structured programs to develop the tourism potential and growth of the province as a tourist destination
- To create opportunities to market and attract more and diverse visitors to the province and ensure that the province remains the tourism destination of choice, and
In October, after the agreement was signed, the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation, requested an amount of R5 million to sponsor the Mahika Mahikeng event.
However, Lenkopane said this was inherited from the sixth administration and that she was also in support of the idea as it was clear about addressing the needs of the people.
She said she was also in a position of a document that showed NWPTB transferred an amount of R18 million to the department.
“The CFO, in the document, indicated that they (NWPTB) must take the other amount to the Golden Leopards Resort (GLR) and the other one for Mahika Mahikeng,” said Lenkopane, adding that there was further submissions from the chief marketing officer who indicated that Mahika Mahikeng must be supported.
Lenkopane said NWPTB also spent another R4 million while arts, culture and sports spent R3 million to support the development of small businesses.
“We also had to apologise to the GLR staff. The resort struggled for 10 years because it has never had the budget that was appropriated in the legislature,” she said, adding that her department expected NWPTB to give GLR R11 million from the R18 million because the money was appropriated for the resort.
Lenkopane said according to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), it was not allowed to use the money budgeted for a particular item, saying this was a direct financial mismanagement.
She added that she was also in a position of the document that shows that an amount of R45 million that was requested from her department in November was stolen, adding that she had the money used to pay the NWPTB workers was not for salaries.
Lenkopane said the board, in its submission to request the money, indicated that the R45 million would be able to pay salaries until March.
The failure to pay salaries also prompted an alleged smear campaign for her removal from the office. This includes the DA which recently issued a statement that Premier Larazus Mokgosi to reconsider Lenkopane’s deployment.
However, according to her, this started after she questioned some of the board members about their role in the mismanagement within the entity.
“It came when I started to ask them a question what was their role in all the things they have told me? That was my mistake,” she added.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za