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The department of sports, arts and culture has launched an investigation into Away From Here Trading after the company allegedly failed to deliver on a R2 million contract to monitor royalties of musicians based on radio airplay.
The company received the money more than three years ago but has failed to adequately report how it spent the funds. The company, owned by former SABC sports presenter Owen Ndlovu, received the money through the department’s entrepreneurial initiative known as the Mzansi Golden Economy in 2021.
READ: Ukhozi FM song of the year drama far from over as radio boss is in the line of fire
The brief was for the company to monitor if South African artists were being paid their royalties. Sources this week claimed, however, that Ndlovu had failed to submit a report to the department breaking down how the money was spent.
"But the department chose to award the contract to an entity owned by an individual," said the source, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.
READ: No end in sight for Ukhozi FM song of the year drama as Ndlovu and Ngcobo head to court
According to a second source close to the investigation, Ndlovu’s company did not have the capacity to deliver on this mandate and might have enlisted the services of another monitoring company. Said the source:
Last year, EFF MP Eugene Mthethwa in Parliament asked Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa for an update on the multimillion-rand contract.
He asked in Parliament:
He also wanted to know if the company, Away From Here Trading, had delivered on its promises, and if not, what the department was doing about that.
In his written response dated 24 November 2023, the minister said after the funding was granted, the department had received an allegation of possible maladministration regarding the project.
READ: Owen Ndlovu: 'SABC stole my millions'
"An investigation has been initiated and is in the process of being finalised," Kodwa added.
In the department's response to Mthethwa's question, the ministry confirmed that the contract was a pilot project after Ndlovu's company partnered with an Australian-based company for data harnessing.
Ndlovu was adamant that there was no investigation against him, but claimed that the department was following its own internal process.
He said:
He said the funding was once off and also denied that his reports to the department were not originally his.
"We are the only company that monitors royalties for artists. Tight now, we have a contract with Samro [Southern African Music Rights Organisation] and all the reports we give are original," he said. He also said he gave the department a breakdown of the expenditure, which included salaries and marketing, totalling R1.8 million.
This week, Litha Mpondwana, the department’s spokesperson, confirmed the investigation was ongoing. Mpondwana said:
READ: SABC DJs suspended after song drama
Ndlovu, an ex-sports presenter on Ukhozi FM, has been at loggerheads with the SABC over the song of the year competition dispute over copyright infringement. The company was responsible for the song of the year competition he introduced in 2016.
