Pretoria - The presidency was not probing the alleged misuse of funds by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) on Youth Day last year, the agency said on Wednesday.
Responding to a report in the Daily Dispatch newspaper on Tuesday, spokesman Siyabonga Magadla said in a statement that the report was wrong.
“The NYDA would like to put it on record that President Jacob Zuma's office is not investigating the NYDA as alleged by the Daily Dispatch. As such the newspaper article is incorrect and misleading,” he said.
The report states the agency was being investigated, with the focus on provincial leaders within the NYDA who organised the one-day R5 million celebrations in Port Elizabeth.
The probe began after a whistle-blower made allegations to the NYDA's national office, which is based in the presidency and reports to Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane.
“The NYDA can however confirm that it is conducting its own internal investigations into allegations of possible misuse of funds allocated to the 2012 Youth Day celebrations held in Nelson Mandela Bay,” said Magadla.
“Details and the scope of the investigation can however not be revealed or discussed at this stage, as this may compromise the investigation.” - Sapa