Note to Broadcasters: Please find the attached soundbite in English and Afrikaans by Wolfgang Wallhorn
The Democratic Alliance notes the MEC of Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation, Tsotso Tlhapi’s engagement with the Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sport Foundation, as well as the handover of new equipment and minibuses, but warns that this investment risks failing to achieve its full potential as equipment alone will not deliver a lasting impact.
The foundation needs a clear, practical plan that includes training, community involvement and ongoing support. What is needed now is decisive follow-through and delivery on the ground.
The DA proposes four immediate, integrated recommendations, each with a fixed outcome, to ensure these investments translate into sustainable skills, access and governance:
1. Fast‑track refurbishment and publish a three‑year implementation and maintenance plan. This will ensure that the foundation can publish an asset register, nominate custodians, allocate a maintenance budget, and provide refurbishment timelines aligned with the program’s needs within days.
2. Intensify marketing and establish an independent monitoring framework with quarterly public reporting enabling the foundation to launch a targeted outreach campaign and publish quarterly reports with clear indicators: enrolment, completion, asset utilisation and job/income outcomes to enable transparent oversight and demonstrate increased community participation.
3. Prioritise meaningful public participation and create a district access and rotation protocol to guarantee equity. The foundation can then publish a booking and rotation policy developed with community input and schedule minibuses for outreach and ensure measurable increases in participation from underserved rural and township learners.
4. Urgently appoint a fit‑for‑purpose independent and capable board and fund instructor upskilling with accredited training pathways such as short courses developed with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) and delivered by certified instructors, operational within six months to link skills to local labour markets.
These measures will safeguard public assets, expand meaningful access, enforce accountable governance, and convert training into real jobs and sustainable enterprise opportunities.
Mmabana’s long-term success will not be secured by handovers and headlines but by transparent governance, genuine community inclusion, and measurable delivery where it matters most, on the ground.
DA remains committed to exercising oversight to ensure that Mmabana is fully restored to its rightful place as a driver of opportunity, creativity, and community development in North West.