'Ghost' festival scandal: CEO says he was ‘not in a position to refuse’ R1.6m payment

THE ACTING CEO of the Northern Cape Arts and Culture Council (NCACC), Phillip Speek, testified in the Special Commercial Crimes Court in Kimberley this week that he was “not in a position to refuse” when he received instructions to process a R1.6 million payment for the so-called Umsobomvu “ghost” youth festival.

Traffic Events and Entertainment CC was awarded a R1.6 million tender by the Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) to organise the youth event in Colesberg on December 31, 2016, but the festival never took place.

The former acting head of the department, Ruth Palm; the chief financial officer, Andrian Coleridge; the chief director of corporate services, Bonakele Jacobs; and the director of Traffic Events and Entertainment CC, Lesego Stephens Mphake, are facing several charges, including contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), fraud, money laundering, and contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

Palm’s legal representative, Riaan Bode, questioned why there was no reference detailing a R1 million payment made to the service provider.

“Who authorised the payment, in the absence of a variation order?” he asked.

Speek stated that he received instructions to conclude the transaction from his immediate supervisor, Jacobs, and from the chairperson of the NCACC, Mr Thebe, on December 24, 2016.

“They stressed the urgency of the payment, and I followed instructions. I received a call from Jacobs on a Sunday to check if I had already paid the money.

“This followed a prior conversation with the chairperson of the NCACC board. It was clear that there was communication between Jacobs and Thebe. I was not in a position to refuse.”

He added that the department had also issued a memorandum for the NCACC to pay Traffic Events, even though it was not an NCACC project.

“Control measures had to be put in place to account to the Auditor-General on how the money was spent.”

Senior State Advocate Isaac Mphela is representing the prosecution.

Magistrate Vernon Smith postponed the matter to July 6-10, 2026.