By: Sello Theletsane
The injeje yabeNGUNI Council had condemns “in the strongest terms” what it called “the arrogant theft in broad day light by the KZN Provincial Government”.
“Our Council has been inundated with complaints from members particularly from the community of kwaMashu who have expressed shock, anger and disgust at seeing the WE ARE ONE heritage event organized by the KZN Office of the Premier which it claimed and projected as its own.”
In a statement the Council said: “The anger of our members is based on the fact that the WE ARE ONE Festival is an event that was founded and launched in 2016 by Ms. Jacinta Ngobese with the support of the Ethekwini Municipality, Sibaya Community Trust and the Jeff Radebe Family.”
“The festival was launched with the interest of bridging racial cleavages particularly in the commmunities of kwaMashu and Phoenix.”
“The festival has been supported over the years by both communities including soccer teams Lamontville Golden Arrows and AmaZulu, it has also been supported by rugby teams Cell C Sharks and the Cheetahs.”
“The KZN Provincial Government undoubtedly led by the Communications Unit of the KZN Office of the Premier has arrogantly stolen not only from Ms. Ngobese as the founder but have defrauded the communities of KwaMashu and Phoenix. Young native entrepreneurs have always raised issues of government officials and employees stealing their ideas and concepts and reintroducing them as government initiatives without the owner of the idea being involved, however the level of arrogance and unashamed actions of the provincial government in this regard is unprecedented and will surely make for impeccable history.”
“What our Council has analyzed is that ever since Mr. Lennox Mabaso took the helm in the Communications Unit of the KZN Office of the Premier, the Premier himself has become the most hated citizen of the province. The reports we have received from our members within government, tell of the arrogance and gangstar bullish behavior demonstrated by Mr. Mabaso towards other communication officials in provincial departments and certain municipalities as being the nucleus of why the KZN Provincial Government has experienced this level of moral ethical and professional decadence.”
“Mr. Mabaso has clearly demonstrated that he is his own worst enemy and the worst communications person in the history of communications. A quick google search on the WE ARE ONE Festival clearly gives enough information to know who founded this event and thus it is not a case of the KZN Provincial Government not knowing, it is the arrogance of thinking because you are in government then you are a law unto yourself and thus can steal, corrupt, defraud without repercussions.”
“This happens just as one of the organisers of the original WE ARE ONE Festival Mr. Delani Ncayiyana lost his life in the most inhumane manner in the Phoenix Massacre, and instead of the KZN Provincial Government working to celebrate his efforts, they steal the one thing he committed himself wholeheartedly to. It is just pathetic that in 2021 we still have an entire Provincial Government stealing from a young female native entrepreneur and stealing a communities local heritage and passing it off as something new, it is sincerely an indictment on the moral, ethical and professional standards in the KZN Office of the Premier which is clearly in a state of decadence and reeks of a stench of outdated cronyism.”
“If the KZN Premier continues to harbour that puffadder in his office, he will find himself being rated as one of the worst Premiers in the history of the province. He needs to do himself a favor and rid himself of that sinister individual who believes he is a demigod of the KZN Provincial Government. These are the results of parachuting non entities as they are ultimately overwhelmed by the corridors of privilege.”
“Although corruption, fraud and blatant theft has become common amongst government officials and employees, what we have witnessed being done by the KZN Office of the Premier has taken theft to whole a new league entirely, they are certainly in their own realm and it is Mr. Lennox Mabaso who is at the center of this dirty business. It is incomprehensible how the Premier has been unable to see the liability that Mr. Mabaso has been on him and his entire administration. It is inconceivable that anybody else could outdo the irreparable damage that Mr. Mabaso has done to the image of the Premier in the region and nationally.”
The Council gave the Office of the Premier Sihle Zikalala seven days “to engage the founder of the original WE ARE ONE Festival Ms. Jacinta Ngobese and the community of kwaMashu, failing which our council will immediately approach all relevant law enforcement agencies, instruct our own legal team and our council also reserves its right to demonstrate to the KZN Office of the Premier via unconventional means”.
