Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has noted mischaracterisations driven by, in particular, one disgruntled former Council member of the Market Theatre Foundation (MTF) regarding his decision this month to disband the Council of the MTF.
The Minister said: “I do not appreciate some of the comments now circulating, and it has become necessary to set the record straight, including with details that would otherwise not have needed airing in public.
“Unlike what is being said by the former Council member, I was in fact provided with overwhelming reasons to dissolve the Council and approve a process for a new Council to be constituted as soon as possible.”
As a starting point for alarm, the Council was characterised by interactions – both among Council members and towards Management – that led the CEO, among other things, to tender her resignation.
This was concerning, particularly because the CEO had led the entity to achieving a clean audit in the previous audit cycle. The Department and the Minister instituted an investigation into the conduct of the Council and found numerous further instances of great concern, some of which will be detailed below.
Acting with due caution, however, prior to the decision to dissolve, each Council member was asked to provide their written inputs on the concerns related to the functioning of the board. Highly conflicting reports were received, pointing to a Council at cross-purposes with itself and confirming many of the reports and complaints DSAC received.
Among these complaints was a written submission to the Department from one female Council member against a male Council member, accusing him of sexual, verbal and even physical harassment. She was made to feel extremely unsafe and was near the point of resigning as a Council member, simply to put distance between herself and this member.
Other Council members were also questioning whether continuing as members was worth their time and effort given the emerging toxic culture that was beginning to affect their mental wellbeing.
A meeting between the Minister and the Council members was held where the Minister asked each member why he should not consider dissolving the Council. Alarmingly, at least three Council members voted for the dissolution of the Council, which is highly unusual, while the Chairperson herself suggested that the board should be reconstituted with some members removed.
These documents and meetings are on record.
This led the Minister to conclude that it would not be in the best interests of the Market Theatre Foundation to simply ignore such deep divisions and hope that governance at the entity would improve. A decision to reconstitute the Council was therefore taken. This is legal and fully allowed. The Minister established good cause and acted accordingly. Previous boards have been dissolved in similar fashion.
A disgruntled former Council member has written to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture, demanding intervention. They have also pursued other avenues that they believe are available to them to voice their grievances against the decision, driven by what they claim is their “employment” at the MTF and that they now “face immediate unemployment”.
It must be noted that acting as a Council member at a public entity is not “employment”, as Council members are expected to be independent. They are paid modest meeting and preparation fees in return for their time and expertise – but they are not employees.
It is ill-advised or misguided to claim that the Minister should have followed the guidelines in the Cultural Institutions Act of 1998, as amended by the Cultural Laws Second Amendment Act 69 of 2001, around the removal of individual board members.
The legislation in fact provides that the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture may dissolve the entire council (board) of a declared cultural institution on “any reasonable grounds”. This power is set out in section 5 of the Act and its Amendments.
For anyone to also claim that they or any other Council members played a role in the CEO reconsidering her decision to resign is also a far cry from the truth – the Minister personally reached out to the CEO to engage on her decision and see if she could be persuaded otherwise.
Said the Minister: “It became an evident choice between backing Management who have shown themselves to be stable and reliable, or a Council around whom too many questions of stability were being posed.”
The Minister therefore decided to dissolve the Council, and he remains committed to defending it in the best interests of the MTF and the arts sector. The Department and the Minister are focused on reconstituting the Council without delay.
He added: “I would like to thank the Council members who have shown dignity in accepting my decision to dissolve the board, and respecting the processes of Government.”
For media enquiries:
Ms. Stacey-Lee Khojane, Spokesperson: Office of the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
Email: StaceyK@dsac.gov.za
Cell: +27 77 608 7579
Ms Zimasa Velaphi, Head of Communication and Marketing: Department of Sport, Arts and Culture
Email: ZimasaV@dsac.gov.za
Cell: +27 72 172 8925
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