Durban - Opposition parties in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature are calling for clear guidelines and regulations to be established to govern the government spending on funerals of prominent individuals in the future.
The parties are also demanding a full accounting record of the contribution made by the provincial and local government for the funeral of prominent Durban musician, Mandla “Mampintsha” Maphumulo.
The calls come after an allegation that as much as R50 million had been spent on Maphumulo’s funeral – a claim that was vehemently denied by the provincial government yesterday. Maphumulo’s funeral was held on Friday at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC).
The EFF, NFP and DA said they wanted a full record of the expenditure and called for rules and regulations to be established to govern such spending in future. The parties said they were not aware if any rules on such matters existed, and questioned the government’s lack of consistent action in how it provided this kind of support.
But provincial government spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said there was a policy in place, saying “you cannot spend government money without a policy in place”. Asked to spell out what the policy was, Mabaso said he would make time to take The Mercury through it. He also slammed those who “started rumours” about the “exorbitant spending”, describing the action as insensitive. He said the provincial government had offered many artists and their families similar assistance in the past.
In a statement, Mabaso had earlier said the provincial government found it regrettable that it was forced to respond to the false rumours being spread on social media regarding its support to the “dignified send-off” of Maphumulo.
He said that as a transparent and accountable government “we wish to clarify that the support provided by the provincial government to the family is as follows”:
- Office of the Premier R170 000
- Department of Sport, Arts and Culture R50 000
- EThekwini Metro R100 000
“The falsehood being peddled about R50m is nothing more than a figment of the imagination of those who are morally and spiritually bankrupt,” he said.
EFF leader Mongezi Thwala said the party was curious about exactly how much money was spent on the funeral.
“We will be writing to the Office of the Premier to give us a breakdown of how much was spent, how the procurement process was carried out, and which vote (budget of department) the money came from – or was the money sitting there waiting just in case someone passed away?”
He added that the party was not aware of any policy governing expenditure in such matters.
“We do not know of any policy in place that is there to define the criteria that should be used when providing such assistance. We want them to give us that criteria so that there is transparency and accountability of how public funds have been spent,” he said.
Thwala added that there was no consistency when it came to offering such support.
“I know that there are some people (artists) who have never been assisted.”
DA MPL and spokesperson on arts and culture Bradley Singh said the party would also request a detailed report on how much was spent and what it was spent on. He said it would also demand that a standard policy be developed.
“I do not know of any policy that deals with the helping of artists, there must be a standardised policy which says that when artists request help, we help them. At the moment, the people you have from the ANC speaking at the funeral determine how much money you get,” he said, adding that there had also been public outrage about spending on a funeral, and DA MPLs had received complaints from communities.
Canaan Mdletshe, for the NFP, said they would table a motion in the legislature, asking for the Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube to divulge the true reflection of the government’s contribution.
“Since it’s public money, we are obliged as a party to hold the government accountable. Therefore, in the interest of transparency, we will table the motion so that everything will be clarified with evidence,” he said.
Cultural expert Dr Velaphi (VVO) Mkhize said that the government contributing to a funeral was nothing new. In the past this had always been done – it was ubuntu.
“When a person dies, the whole community that the person lived in is affected, and depending on what they could afford, the community contributed to assist that bereaved family.
“In the past when a person died there would even be a directive that the community should not plough their fields so that all the labour was directed to the bereaved family. So the government has done something that has always been done,” he said.
He said questioning the amount of money contributed was insensitive.