A sweeping parliamentary disclosure has laid bare a troubling picture of governance across South Africa’s sport, arts and culture institutions, with several entities reporting suspended executives, disciplinary proceedings, investigations and key senior vacancies, while millions of rand continue to flow to board and council members.
The disclosures are contained in the written response by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture to National Assembly submitted by Songezo Siphiwo Zibi from Rise Mzansi.
Zibi asked the Minister of Sports Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie to identify entities that had members of executive management or boards suspended, subjected to disciplinary action or investigated over the previous two financial years.
He also demanded details of vacant senior positions and the total compensation paid to board members across the department’s entities.
The responses reveal that the problems are not confined to one institution.
One of the most striking disclosures concerns Iziko Museums of South Africa, where former CEO Lennox Tukwayo was placed on precautionary suspension in January 2026 pending an independent investigation.
The allegations listed in the parliamentary response include alleged false representations to the Council Assessment Panel, alleged misrepresentation concerning an HR policy matter and reports, failure to brief the Audit and Risk Committee on significant matters, unauthorised absence from work and allegedly performing work for third parties during working hours without authorisation.
The response also says Tukwayo was allegedly observed sleeping during office hours.
More seriously, the institution alleged that he failed to adequately plan, manage and oversee an international exhibition, with shortcomings in governance, risk management, communication, accountability and stakeholder engagement allegedly resulting in fruitless and wasteful expenditure and negative media exposure.
The allegations also included failures relating to probation evaluations and performance agreements for employees reporting directly to him.
The matter was ultimately resolved through a separation agreement signed on 8 April 2026, according to the Minister’s response.
Despite the leadership upheaval, Iziko is now attempting to recruit a replacement CEO, with the appointment expected by the end of October 2026.
The institution says the CEO is its only senior-management vacancy, although it has 50 other vacant positions, 18 of which have been prioritised for the next round of advertisements.
And while the institution wrestles with vacancies and leadership instability, its council received substantial remuneration.
Iziko reported board compensation of R709,329 in 2025/26, with a further R710,376 reported for 2026/27.
The National Film and Video Foundation also features prominently in the parliamentary response.
Former CFO Peter Makaneta was placed on precautionary suspension and subjected to a forensic investigation into alleged financial misconduct.
Makaneta was subsequently dismissed on 27 November 2025, while Mayinje resigned on 31 March 2025.
Former acting CEO Thobela Mayinje was also placed on precautionary suspension and investigated over alleged credit-card abuse and ethical misconduct.
At the same time, the NFVF reported senior vacancies for both the CEO and CFO, with the average period required to fill senior vacancies estimated at approximately three months.
Board remuneration at the foundation climbed from R1.427 million in 2024/25 to R1.680 million in 2025/26.
The National Arts Council’s response presents another complicated governance picture.
The NAC says its Human Resource Manager was placed on precautionary suspension in February 2024 and subjected to a disciplinary hearing. She ultimately won her case against the council and was reinstated in March 2026.
Meanwhile, the Arts Development Manager and interim CFO were placed on special leave in November 2025 while allegations against them were independently reviewed.
According to the parliamentary response, that review found no wrongdoing and concluded that the allegations were baseless. Both officials returned to work in December 2025.
But the NAC is simultaneously facing senior leadership vacancies.
The posts of CEO and CFO have been advertised, but appointments are dependent on the appointment of a new board or council. The department estimates that filling those positions could take between three and four months after the new council is appointed.
A Communication and Marketing Manager position has not yet been advertised and is expected to be filled by January 2027.
The council and committee remuneration disclosed in the response totals R3.168 million across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years.
At the Nelson Mandela Museum, the CEO was suspended in September 2025 and, according to the response, remains subject to a disciplinary process.
The institution said the next planned disciplinary sitting was scheduled for 3 and 4 August 2026.
Despite the disciplinary process, the museum reported no senior-management vacancies.
The museum reported board remuneration of R995,680 in 2025/26 and R894,681 in 2026/27.
Freedom Park reported that council member Ambassador Moleboheng Matli was removed on 23 July 2025.
The institution also disclosed disciplinary action involving its Head of Heritage and Knowledge, Dr Otsile Ntswane.
The response notes that the CCMA found in favour of Freedom Park in the matter.
At senior-management level, Freedom Park has vacancies for a CEO, Head of Heritage and Knowledge and Company Secretary.
Interviews for the CEO position had been conducted, with the appointment expected by 30 September 2026.
The figures are significant, Freedom Park reported R1.086 million in board compensation for 2025/26 and a further R570,251.24 for 2026/27.
Other institutions also reported senior vacancies, including the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, which has a vacant Chief Curator: Human Sciences position expected to be filled by 1 November 2026.
The disclosures therefore raise a broader question, how effectively can these publicly funded institutions deliver their mandates when key leadership positions remain vacant while boards continue receiving substantial compensation?
The parliamentary response also provides an unusually detailed look at what taxpayers are paying boards and councils.
At Boxing South Africa, board remuneration amounted to R620,354 in 2025/26, compared with R498,848 in 2024/25, a combined R1.118 million over the two years.
At the Market Theatre Foundation, compensation was reported at R456,126 for one financial year and R471,010 for the other, totalling R927,136.
The Mandela Bay Theatre Complex reported total board fees of R826,244 for 2026.
And at the National Arts Council alone, the disclosed remuneration for council and committee members across the two financial years exceeded R3.1 million.
Taken together, the parliamentary response paints a picture of a cultural and sporting sector dealing with a combination of executive suspensions, disciplinary disputes, investigations, leadership vacancies and significant board remuneration.
Importantly, the disclosures do not establish wrongdoing by every official who was suspended or investigated.
In some cases, allegations were found to be baseless or matters were resolved without findings of misconduct.
The NAC, for example, explicitly says its independent review found no wrongdoing against its Arts Development Manager and interim CFO.
But the sheer breadth of the disclosures raises questions about governance capacity across institutions that rely heavily on public funding.
The parliamentary question was not merely about who was suspended.
It was also about who is being paid, which positions remain vacant and whether these institutions have the leadership capacity necessary to account for public money and deliver on their mandates.
The answers now put those figures and those governance failures firmly on the parliamentary record.
