The Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture has made public the Covid-19 Relief Fund Beneficiary list available for public perusal, as advised by the newly appointed Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture Gayton Mckenzie.
Upon the 1st list being released on the 10th July, followed by the 2nd and 3rd Wave lists on the 11th July respectively, the Covid Relief Fund list of beneficiaries has sparked up controversy on social media, revealing names of influential celebrities, among being the BET award winning musician Makhadzi, and fan favourite podcaster MacG, Arthur Mafokate, and Kelly Khumalo.
The list shows the number of people who have benefited from the relief fund, and discloses the amount which they were given. MacG, and Somizi’s ex-hubby Mohale Motaung got R75K each, while the likes of Kelly Khumalo, Arthur Mafokate, Mafikizolo, Dr Rebeca Malope Arts Foundation, Fifi Cooper and others bagged between R10k to R20k as grants.
While the list is quite lengthy, and there’s a lot of beneficiaries, popular celebrities were put under scrutiny by social media users, some questioning the varying amounts, and criterion eligibility of the grants.
In his new portfolio as Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton Mckenzie has sworn to do right by the people, and thus far he’s shaking things up, garnering favour from people.
Another big revelation came when a post by popular social media news page MDN NEWS alleged that there may have been foreign nationals who might have benefited from the Covid-19 Relief Fund at the expense of neglecting South African artists. The news of this revelation catapulted the ongoing debate, with many South Africans accusing the SA government of putting others first before their own, and seeking accountability. Minister Gayton Mckenzie has promised to get the bottom of the matter, stating that he too would like to know how did this come about?
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