McDonald’s South Africa has confirmed that MEC for Local Government and Housing Humphrey Mmemezi paid R10 000 for a piece of artwork through one of its branches.
McDonald’s spokesman Belinda McKenna said the fast food company had instituted a probe after The Star ran a story on Monday on how Mmemezi had used his government-issued credit card at a McDonald’s branch in Silverton, Tshwane, for the painting.
McDonald’s said the transaction took place on October 12 last year.
McKenna said: “The owner-operator, in his capacity as a businessman, was empathetic to the needs of a friend, the artist, offering assistance of using the credit card facility in his restaurant to process the transaction, as the artist does not have credit card facilities with which to receive payments.”
She added: “No sale transaction was processed through the McDonald’s system. In hindsight, the owner operator agrees that this was an innocent error of judgment.”
McKenna said the owner-operator’s actions were not in line with McDonald’s South Africa’s corporate governance standards.
The Star