BREAKING NEWS: Arthur Mafokate and KZN service providers to get slice of MACUFE

Staff Reporter

Bloemfontein — The 2026 edition of the Mangaung African Cultural Festival (MACUFE) is once again embroiled in controversy, with questions being raised over the awarding of service-provider contracts.

Macufe saga heading to SCA while two more officials were suspended over payment

STEPUPSANEWS can confirm that at least 51 companies submitted bids for the available work, with only 12 companies set to benefit from the contracts.

Among those awarded work is a Johannesburg-based company owned by music executive Arthur Mafokate, while two companies from KwaZulu-Natal are also understood to have been selected.

Sources have questioned the decision, particularly in light of comments previously made by Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae that local companies should be prioritised.

One source said the awarding of the contracts was at odds with the Premier’s stated position.

“A few weeks ago, Premier Mathae said Free State companies must be prioritised, but here we have a Johannesburg-based company owned by Arthur Mafokate taking what should be going to local companies.

“There are also two KZN companies. The remaining nine are from Mangaung, again excluding companies from other districts.”

Another source questioned whether proper supply-chain management processes had been followed.

“The supply-chain processes were overlooked and we also don’t have a Director of SCM. He is suspended.”

Questions over procurement processes surrounding MACUFE are not new.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Dot Design took the department to court over the appointment of C-2. The court ruled in favour of Dot Design. The department subsequently appealed the judgment and continued with further legal challenges before ultimately succeeding.

Two Treasury officials were also previously suspended in connection with a R16 million payment.

Macufe Payment: Suspended officials returned to work, silently

During the previous edition of MACUFE, MEC Zanele Sifuba withdrew delegated powers from the Head of Department, amid ongoing concerns surrounding the festival’s administration and procurement processes.

Now SCM Director is suspended days before procurement is done.

Can it be coincidental considering the MEC was directly involved and implicated in the BOM controversy and Mathae is doing nothing with the report fingering Sifuba.

Mathae’s failure to act in R3.6 million scandal may be violation of section 34 of PRECCA

The latest allegations raise fresh questions about transparency, procurement and the extent to which Free State-based businesses are benefiting from one of the province’s biggest cultural events.

Tickets are not selling with few days to go before the event starts.

STEPUPSANEWS will be seeking comment from the Free State provincial government, the department responsible for MACUFE, the affected companies and other parties mentioned in the allegations.

This is a developing story.

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