A political dispute has emerged in the Northern Cape over the procurement, budgeting, and execution of the “Premier’s Bafana Bafana Fan Parks” held in June 2026.

COPE has levelled allegations of unbudgeted spending and bypassed safeguards, while the Office of the Premier has strongly defended the legality of the initiative, describing it as a standard procurement process approved by the provincial executive.

‘Neither properly planned, nor budgeted for’

The controversy began when COPE leader Pakes Dikgetsi challenged the provincial government over an expenditure of R3,1 million of public money at the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre. Dikgetsi claims the fan park events were neither properly planned nor budgeted for, despite the dates of the 2026 FIFA World Cup being known four years in advance.

“There was therefore ample time for proper planning, budgeting and lawful procurement,” Dikgetsi says, questioning why an emergency was seemingly created to bypass an open competitive tender process.

A central point of contention is the decision to route the organization and funding of the events through the Northern Cape Economic Development Agency (NCEDA). Dikgetsi questioned why a provincial agency with a specific economic-development mandate was being burdened with tasks that properly belong under the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC).

He alleged that this forms part of a “disturbing pattern” where provincial entities, including NCEDA, Mme Re Ka Thusa, and the Northern Cape SMME Trust, are used to circumvent normal procurement, prompting the Auditor General (AG) to demand answers.

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Dikgetsi further claimed that while ordinary businesses face months-long delays for government payments, politically connected beneficiaries of the fan park were paid with “remarkable speed” immediately after the events, citing invoices INV48/NCEDA and INV198/NCEDA. He stated that hard-core documentary evidence of these transactions will be handed over to law enforcement agencies.

In its response the Northern Cape Office of the Premier strongly rejected the allegations, characterising them as hearsay presented as facts.

‘A collective decision taken’

Naledi Gaosekwe, Media Liaison Officer for the Office of the Premier, clarified that the decision to host the fan park was not made unilaterally by the premier’s office, but was a collective decision taken by the executive council (exco) of the Northern Cape. The public viewing was organised in response to Bafana Bafana’s historic qualification for the Round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup against Canada, aiming to provide a safe, high-energy public platform for residents to support the national team.

Addressing the financial allegations, the Office of the Premier stated that procurement was conducted through a standard three-quotation process. Because the total value fell below the prescribed quotation threshold, an open competitive bidding or tender process was not legally required.

“No emergency procurement or deviation from the applicable SCM prescripts was invoked or approved,” the response stated, adding that payments were processed under standard controls without any preferential treatment or “remarkable speed”.

The Office of the Premier also defended the choice of NCEDA, highlighting it as one of the province’s best-run entities, which achieved a clean audit in its last audit period. According to the statement, exco had resolved that NCEDA is the most appropriate entity to implement catalytic projects aimed at economic development and tourism, with specific sports codes recognised as primary economic drivers.

“It is evident that there is nothing un-towards in NCEDA implementing any events in the Northern Cape,” Gaosekwe concluded.