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·  ANCYL wants 40% of Macufe 2025 to be channelled to the youth ·  10% of the Macufe budget be ring-fenced for youth development programmes beyond the festival ·  Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation department must provide a full list of the Macufe 2025 service providers that include names, registration numbers, ownership status, and geographic location

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Sizwe sama Yende

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The ANCYL in the Free State has issued a stern warning to Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation MEC, Zanele Sifuba, that she might face a campaign remove her should she fail to ensure that the R18 million allocated to the Mangaung African Cultural Festival (Macufe) benefit the youth.

The league said that it welcomed the return of Macufe – scheduled to take place from from September 3 to September 7 – with “cautious optimism.”

Macufe was suspended 2023 following a legal challenge about the tender processes followed to award it to C-Squared in 2022. C-Squared competitor, DS Consortium, took the matter to court – alleging irregularities. 

The Bloemfontein Division of the High Court ruled in favour of the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation in 2024, giving the green light for Macufe to go ahead.

“The ANC Youth League will not shield any public official who fails to deliver material benefit to the youth. Should young people remain excluded under her watch, we will lead the call for her immediate removal. Political power must be used to advance the masses, not protect elite interests,” said provincial secretary, Jackson Mthembu, in a statement.

Mthembu said that their demand was that 40% or R7.2 million of the budget be allocated to the province’s black youth-owned enterprises.

“There can be no justification for the continued exclusion of the youth majority in a province where youth unemployment has become structural and where opportunities remain tightly controlled by a handful of gatekeepers. This Macufe must be a turning point, not another insult,” he said.

The league also demanded that:

·  The R18 million budget must not be a windfall for the connected few, but a direct economic intervention in the lives of the poor;

·  The Department must ensure that more than 70% of all vendors, suppliers, artists, and production companies originate from the Free State; and

·   A minimum of 10% of the Macufe budget be ring-fenced for youth development programmes beyond the festival itself such as music and performance training, business incubation hubs for the creative sector, and long-term infrastructure investments in township cultural spaces.

“Street vendors from QwaQwa, photographers from Thaba Nchu, kasi-based fashion designers in Botshabelo, caterers from Virginia, and independent promoters in Mangaung must be placed at the centre of this economy,” Mthembu said.

The league added that it would demand transparency and full accountability from Sifuba’s department. The department will have to provide a full list of the Macufe 2025 service providers that include names, registration numbers, ownership status, and geographic location. 

“Anything short of full disclosure will confirm that this project is not for the people. Public accountability is non-negotiable, and the youth of the Free State will not be kept in the dark. The youth deserve to know, how youth empowerment will be implemented in the Macufe 2025 rollout plan,” Mthembu said.

“For too long, festivals like Macufe have been reduced to playgrounds for political cronies and tenderpreneurs. This time, young people are watching, and we will not allow history to repeat itself. The ANC Youth League will track implementation, verify procurement outcomes, and expose any deviation from the commitments we demand today.”