By Bongekile Macupe.
The Free State government has justified spending R3.5 million on former education MEC Tate Makgoe’s funeral, saying he was “popular and his funeral was expected to draw multitudes of people”.
Makgoe, one of the longest-serving MECs in the Free State, died in a car accident in March.
Though the money is not the most the government has spent on state funerals, it has once again highlighted the exorbitant funds spent on them.
In 2020, MPs called for the funds to be capped.
The DA in the Free State has called the R3.5 million bill an “abuse of state resources”, saying it would file a complaint with the Public Protector.
In a written reply to the DA, which had asked about the cost of Makgoe’s funeral, Premier Mxolisi Dukwana said the province forked out R693 892 for the memorial service, which was held at the University of Free State on 10 March.
The costs included, among others:
- R97 500 for finger food for his family and government dignitaries.
- R70 000 for decor, R6 000 for a red carpet and R24 000 for chair covers.
- R27 5000 for programmes.
The province also paid R485 480 for what it termed an “MEC infrastructure/lunch” for activities that took place at Makgoe’s house in the period between his death and funeral from 8 to 12 March.
This price tag included the following:
- R20 00 for groceries and R13 500 for draping.
- R31 050 for a marque.
- R34 280 for a generator.
- R136 500 for food.
- R66 000 for executive chairs.
The bill for the day of the actual funeral was R1 835 980, which did not include funeral parlour and graveyard costs, which came to R417 324.
This amount entailed:
- R39 850 for the mortuary fee, which included the preparation of the body.
- R84 900 for the casket.
- R46 000 for the burial plot.
- R95 000 for the tombstone.
- R59 000 for red roses.
The cost of the actual funeral came to R1 835 980.
This amount included:
- R643 500 for lunch for 3 000 people.
- R75 000 each for three gospel artists who performed at the funeral.
- R96 876 for accreditation.
- R150 000 for snacks for 2 000 people.
In a statement on Tuesday, DA provincial leader Roy Jankielsohn said promises of tightening the financial belt by the Dukwana-led administration were “mere rhetoric”.
“It is clear that nothing is sacred to the ANC, which will use any opportunity to plunder at the expense of the poor people of the Free State.
“If the ANC-run government in the Free State wanted to commemorate the legacy of the former MEC for education, then this money could have been better used to assist his cash-strapped former department,” added Jankielsohn.
However, the premier’s spokesperson, Sello Dithebe, said if there was evidence the money used to bury Makgoe “constituted malfeasance”, the provincial government would deal with it.
He said the funeral costs needed to be looked at “in context”.
Dithebe added: Given the stature of the deceased MEC Makgoe, who was known all over the Free State and South Africa and accordingly, multitudes of people from across the country, were expected at his funeral.
“Ordinarily, if there is evidence that the amount in question constituted malfeasance, such will be dealt with in the context of consequence management.”
He said the provincial government would cooperate with the Office of the Public Protector if the DA filed a complaint with it.
In 2020, state funerals came into the spotlight when it emerged the government paid R105 million for them in just two years.
The most money spent on a state funeral was that of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s, for which the state paid R35.7 million.
A subsequent investigation revealed Crocia Events, which had been contracted for some of the funerals, had overcharged the state to the tune of R76 million for the funerals of Madikizela-Mandela, Zola Skweyiya and Billy Modise.
Skweyiya and Modise’s funerals cost the state R28.9 million and R11.4 million, respectively.
Auditors PwC was commissioned to investigate allegations Crocia had allegedly submitted inflated invoices for state funerals.
For Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral, PwC found invoiced items deemed contractually compliant only amounted to R4.7 million, while items that were invoiced but not listed on the tender pricing schedule came to just more than R17 million.
The quotation provided by Crocia exceeded the final specifications by R11.4 million, PwC found.In its question to Dukwana, the DA asked which service provider had been used for Makgoe’s funeral, but he did not respond.
It has since emerged C-Squared which is being investigated by the Hawks after allegations that its appointment as Macufe 2022 service provider was irregular, was appointed as a service provider for the funeral.