An internal squabble involving national and provincial leaders of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has resulted in the youth body wasting nearly R50 000 on a fruitless event.
The agency has admitted it has paid R47 130 to accommodate 27 staff members for two nights at the Limpopo Guest Manor, a luxurious four-star lodge in Polokwane. Despite public funds having been spent, NYDA leaders postponed the workshop, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
The workshop was planned to train employees who would head NYDA offices when they were established at local municipalities. These workers were previously employed by the municipalities before joining the NYDA.
The amount spent at the splendid lodge excluded expenses incurred to shuttle the staff from their respective municipalities.
The Star has spoken to three sources who attended the botched event.
“We all arrived on Sunday afternoon for the branding workshop that was meant to start on Monday,” said the source.
“On Monday, when we expected to start at 9am, they told us that it would begin at 11am because they were still in a meeting,” said the source.
Another source said that at 1pm, after the meeting had ended, the branch manager of the NYDA in Polokwane, Percy Madziwo, told the staff that the workshop had been postponed.
“When we asked why they had postponed it, he refused to tell, saying it was an internal matter.”
The source said Madziwo had told them to spend another night at the lodge because their transport had been arranged to fetch them on Tuesday morning.
“We spent two nights at the lodge doing nothing except eating and drinking.”
Each staff member had occupied a single room. The cheapest soft drink at the lodge cost R15, and the agency had paid for all the expenses, including alcoholic beverages.
The NYDA’s Limpopo chairman, Frans Moswane, declined to comment.
“With regard to that, you must speak to (NYDA CEO) Steven Ngubeni,” he said.
Ngubeni said the event had been postponed at the request of the new mayors elected during last week’s municipal elections.
“We signed a memorandum of understanding with previous leaders, and the new political leaders asked us to bring them on board,” said Ngubeni.
Asked why the workshop had been planned at the same time as the elections, Ngubeni said: “Nobody anticipated that the workshop would be affected after the election of the new leadership.”
But a source who attended the event said the NYDA leaders had not agreed on who should facilitate the workshop.
“It was just politics. The workshop was going to be facilitated by the national guys, but those in the province wanted to be in charge,” said the source.
