The Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute faces eviction after a service provider, Nhlulu Development, appointed by the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR), failed to transfer funds to them meant for a coaching clinic and capacity building.
The young girls who are the beneficiaries of the services rendered by the Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute are at the losing end of the stick. This institute was their only hope of nurturing and honing their rugby skills.
Nhlulu Development was awarded a contract by the department and was supposed to transfer R180 000 to the Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute, which they never did.
The Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute is now in financial crisis and unable to pay for water and electricity bills. As a result, the institute is now facing a third eviction in seven months.
The Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute has also engaged the department on the issue, and they claim that the department told them that it is no longer their problem and that the institute must solve it.
This is unacceptable as the department is the one that contracted a service provider that has failed to deliver. The department must account as the beneficiaries did not receive the funds.
The DA suspects that there could be corrupt officials involved in this issue. We demand that the Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Mbali Hlophe must institute an urgent investigation into this matter to ascertain whether proper procurement processes were followed when this service provider was appointed.
We will also be opening a case against Nhlulu Development with the South African Police Services’ Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) Commercial Crimes Unit. We want Nhlulo Development to pay back the R180 000 due to the Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute as a matter of urgency.