Question NW1777 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
18 May 2022 - NW1777
Mhlongo, Mr TW to ask the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
Whether, in light of the fact that by the end of February 2022, the Silapha Wellness Intervention Programme has reached out to only 953 persons at a budget of R3 388 615,97 and furthermore most of the engagements were through social media posts which implies that Silapha has earned an average of R3 388 per person reached out, his department considers this to be accountable and responsible expenditure; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the further relevant details?
Reply:
It is important to note that the Silapha Wellness programme renders a 24 hour Call Centre services with costs paid monthly. It is therefore misleading to equate the amount spent to only the number of the beneficiaries assisted as the total amount spent is made up of the following elements:
-The expenses of executing the outreaches, equates to the biggest percentage spent. Other costs are the monthly payment of the ambassadors; the monthly costs of running social media platforms and other media & PR expenses, as well as the branding and merchandise expenses for marketing. All these are accounted for as per the contract that the service provider entered into with the Department.