NACB still runs without regulations
Staff Writer | Monday April 7, 2025 13:15
The organisation has been besieged by boardroom wars since it commenced operations in 2022. This has derailed it from executing its mandate fully. There has been an alleged infighting between the organisation’s former chief executive officer, Shumbie Ellis and the NACB board, which saw the former being fired from her post. This led to local creative bodies and veteran creatives calling on Kelebeng during a recent Creative Pitso to dissolve the NACB board and halt the organisation’s operations. The bodies said the request is based on a motion of no confidence stemming from the organisation's failure to fulfill its mandate and the board’s unconstitutional extension of tenure without appropriate notice.
However, Kelebeng told Parliament on Monday that, among other things that have contributed to the problems at the NACB, is the lack of regulations to guide its operations. Responding to a question asked by Member of Parliament for Molepolole North, Arafat Khan, Kelebeng said the new government needs to expedite the formulation of the NACB regulations to ensure that the appointment of the board is inclusive of member affiliates as envisaged by the NACB Act. Khan had asked the minister how the NACB board was elected and which Act was followed, how the immediate former CEO was fired from her job, and if proper procedures were followed. In response, Kelebeng said the regulations have been delayed over the years, leaving member affiliates without a say in the appointment of the NACB board. Kelebeng explained that without regulations in place, the former Minister of Youth, Gender, Sports and Cultutre was forced to use his powers to appoint the first board on August 16, 2021. He explained that a subsequent second board was then appointed on August 1, 2024.
He stated that the new government is desirous of reviewing the ways the previous administration did things. “The procedure for appointing the board is set out in the NACB Act. However, as the new government, it is our desire to review most of the processes that took place under the previous government, which will also include the appointment of the NACB board. Allow me to state that before this question reached the floor of Parliament, I was already carrying out my own assessment on the matter. This assessment, Mr Speaker, was necessitated by our view as a government that we need to restore public trust and confidence in our institutions,” Kelebeng said.
Kelebeng further explained that the new government could restore public trust by ensuring that all citizens are treated fairly by government institutions. He said he has previously intervened in matters that were seemingly unresolved between the ministry and private entities or individuals. However, Kelebeng stated that from the report of the NACB board, the dismissal of the former CEO was done procedurally. He stated that the CEO however, was fired when efforts to resolve the matter amicably were still ongoing at the ministry level. “The process has been delayed due to the fact the former CEO has taken the matter to the Labour office and served the NACB with a statutory notice. Mr Speaker, I must hasten to say that we have not given up on the plausibility of an amicable solution between the former CEO and the NACB, mediated by ourselves as the parent ministry,” he said.