An insider has revealed that The South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA) hosted by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), which is funded by taxpayers went over budget for the awards, which were held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand two weekends ago.
OVER BUDGET
The source told ZiMoja that the awards, produced by Black Swan Media this year, went over by R1.5 million. "Obviously, one pitches in due time for such events. The amounts were approved, and two days before the main event, the production company said they needed funds as they had miscalculated the quote,' he said. "They said there are occurrences that they did not anticipate. The choosing criteria for this sort of thing is highly motivated by who can give great production on an affordable budget. This is all taxpayer's money,' added the source.
TROUBLES
The NFVF has been riddled with scandal. In June this year, acting CEO Thobela Mayinje, who was appointed in Aprll 2023, was placed on administrative leave and the council was disbanded on 30 July due to several allegations. The Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture appointed Lebogang Mogoera as the interim acting CEO of the NFVF.
Newly appointed Minister Gayton MacKenzie said there is a big problem at NFVF. "It can't be that all the people in the arts are complaining. There must be a problem there. We must address that problem. We are here to fix things. We are not here for self-aggrandisement. We are here to fix stuff and to work together,' he added.
EXPENDITURE
Previously, the awards were produced by Don't Look Down and were replaced by Black Swan, who produced big shows such as Miss South Africa. "This is what is called irregular expenditure, and someone needs to account for it,' the insider said. This year, the NFVF and current acting CEO Mogoera took over 40 staff members to the French Riviera in France for so-called "exposure" and "networking.' Lerato Mokopanele, marketing officer at NFVF, acknowledged the receipt of queries from ZiMoja despite being "on leave" and said she had sent them to the relevant parties who would respond. No comment has been received by the time of publishing.
