By Celani Sikhakhane
A KZN MEC, Amanda Bani-Mapena, has been shown the door after hosting an extravagant three-day party where guests were handed a jaw-dropping R6,000 booze voucher each!
The lavish event, held at the Durban International Convention Centre, was the final straw for Bani-Mapena, who has been the MEC for Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation for only seven months.
According to reliable sources, Bani-Mapena’s days were numbered from the day she was appointed as she constantly clashed with ANC leadership and failed to heed their advice. But it was the outrageous booze vouchers that pushed her out the door.
“Every attendee had a voucher for R6,000 just for alcohol per guest. Artists on that day were calling each other like crazy to come to the event so that they could not miss an opportunity to get those vouchers of R6,000 for alcohol,” a source revealed.
The scandalous revelations about the excessive vouchers have caused outrage in a country where the monthly child support grant is a mere R500 per child and the old age grant is only R2,080 per month.
Bani-Mapena’s blatant disregard for the struggling citizens of South Africa has sparked public anger.
But the lavish party was not the only offence attributed to Bani-Mapena. Sources claim that she also showed selective treatment towards artists, favouring her buddies for departmental gigs. Last month, a group of artists labelled her “useless” and accused her of being all show and no substance, only good at opening library buildings.
As the ANC scrambles to contain the fallout, Premier Nomsa MaDube Ncube has been instructed to appoint Cogta MEC Bongi maSithole Moloi to act in Bani Mapena’s position.
ANC spokesperson Mafika Mndebele stated that the Premier will inform them about the changes in her cabinet team.
Bani-Mapena’s short-lived tenure as MEC has come to a dramatic end, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of the public and the ruling party.
Pictured above: The fired Mec for Arts, Culture Sports and Recreation Amanda Bani Mapena
