National Arts Council (NAC) interim chief financial officer Reshma Bhoola could not say whether the council ever approved R65 million that she and a former CFO moved out of the NAC’s account.
She was asked for the resolution, she said: “I’m not sure how to answer that.”
EFF MP Eugene Mthethwa questioned her in the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture on Tuesday, 10 November.
Bhoola said the money went to the Corporation for Public Deposits at the Reserve Bank, in two batches.
“I want to take members back to October 2021, when entities received a directive from National Treasury stating that unspent funds should be transferred. It’s mandatory. In October 2021, we had an excess of R5 million in the account. We transferred that with the approval of myself, as I was the acting CFO at the time, and a verbal discussion with the CEO at the time.
“In March 2022, we had around R70 million in our current account. The CFO at the time authorised R60 million to be transferred. Both of us acted according to the directive of National Treasury. The Auditor-General also verified the bank accounts,” she said.
Mthethwa said the council was left out. “So the picture you are painting is that Treasury says this is what must happen, and management decides to act. There’s no involvement of the board. Who gives you that authority within the organisation to transact?” he asked.
“Generally, we looked at these processes as operational requirements within our responsibilities as CFO. For the R60 million, it was an internal unit discussion at year end, where the CFO then instructed us to proceed with the transfer.” Bhoola said.
“The board must have met and taken a resolution. Do you have the resolution? Do you have the documents that told you how much you must transfer?” Mthethwa asked.
“I’m not sure how to answer that,” Bhoola said.
Acting CEO Lebogang Magoera said approval should have been sought.
“As a matter of principle, that should not be the case. A CEO is not only a CEO. He’s an accounting officer. For big things like this, approvals have to be sought,” he said.
Julie Diphofa, who later became acting CEO, said she did nothing about the transfers. “I didn’t do anything about the matter, because I believed the previous acting CEO had dealt with it,” she said.
“We know she didn’t know about it. That’s why she wrote requesting the report. The affidavit is here as proof,” Mthethwa said.
“I was not privy to that information,” Diphofa responded.
In September 2021, National Treasury told public entities listed in Schedules 3A and 3C of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) to move their surplus funds into the Corporation for Public Deposits. The instruction took effect on 14 September 2021. The NAC is a Schedule 3A entity.
Under section 49 of the PFMA, an entity’s board is its accounting authority.
The questions add to probes already under way. Director-general Dr Cynthia Khumalo confirmed that DSAC received a letter from the Public Protector on 6 August 2025 listing issues raised by Nehawu.
She also confirmed she knew of the allegations against Bhoola and Diphofa, which she said “related to maladministration, abuse of power, nepotism and the like”.
DSAC asked the NAC to commission an independent investigation. That investigation was done by the law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. The NAC council says it cleared both women, but it has not released the report. Khumalo undertook to send it to the committee.