Lottery blocks payment to lavishly funded songs event
Lottery blocks payment to lavishly funded songs event
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The Lottery has stopped a grant for the lavishly funded yearly SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA brand superimposed around original illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Standard Songs Awards obtained over R16-million from the Lottery.
However the Lottery has withheld payment of your 2023 grant adhering to an investigation.
The NLC has asked the Exclusive Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in yrs in which funders in addition to the NLC also chipped in to assist fund the awards.
The size of funding with the annual two night function is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga governing administration has funded the awards with over R41-million right after it “was awarded the appropriate” to host the SATMA awards for 3 yrs, starting from the 2020/21 money 12 months.
This has actually been In combination with Lottery funding.
The Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.2-million grant it initially approved for an yearly standard new music awards ceremony. The exact same occasion also been given tens of an incredible number of rand in the Mpumalanga provincial govt.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded a number of grants totalling Pretty much R16.4-million to your Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers from the once-a-year South African Regular Audio Awards (SATMA).
But it surely halted the payment of a 2023 grant following an inner investigation.
GroundUp has uncovered large corruption during the NLC that occurred right up until the previous board and administration was replaced in 2022. The new NLC Management is seeking to clean up up the corruption of the earlier.
The NLC’s investigation focused on both of those the 2023 funding and earlier grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of more than R718,000, allegedly paid from Lottery resources to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founder of the SATMA awards, can be a director.
Questioned if Mageza paid out G4 a licencing or any other expenses to stage the awards, Goba claimed: “G4 was commissioned to accomplish a creation of the function and got paid out for those products and services, like to handle and produce the principle event, roadshows, and many others. I am the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I am the one who have to be compensated for building the idea according to affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation on the Specific Investigating Unit (SIU). It's got requested the SIU to investigate four distinct lottery-funded assignments that gained grants involving October 2020 and May 2023, in addition to the payment to G4 Brothers.
The NLC has also requested the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in a long time where funders in addition to the NLC also chipped in that can help fund the awards.
This includes a grant of R400,000 with the National Heritage Council and just more than R62,000 from “SABC Cellular” in 2020 - precisely the same monetary calendar year by which the party obtained Practically R2.six-million in lottery funding and R13.five-million in the Mpumalanga Section of Society, Sports activities and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards into the tune of over R41-million immediately after it “was awarded the ideal” to host the SATMA awards for 3 yrs, starting within the 2020/21 financial calendar year.
The Mpumalanga government’s funding for SATMA over that interval was considerably greater than grants to every other organisation for cultural projects and gatherings.
The MDSCR gave R3.five-million to SATMA from the 2019/20 money year in advance of ramping up its contribution right after signing the arrangement to host the awards around the following three yrs.
The entire price range submitted to your NLC when Mageza used with the disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.two-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allocated for the actual staging of the party. Other line items in the spending budget included R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Rewards”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “travel.”
The awards were being held on 15 December within the Durban Worldwide ltpbet Convention Centre. Mageza suggests it urgently desires the blocked grant to pay the function’s services vendors.
The SATMA awards, which had been first held in 2006, are staged in excess of two nights and it can be unclear how the tens of millions in grants through the NLC, MDCSR as well as other funders ended up spent.
Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, didn't reply to specific queries from GroundUp, including the cost of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
Alternatively, he claimed: “Your issues are pointed out. However, we have been encouraged via the NLC that this issue is getting investigated by the SIU. Hence, we can't reply to your issues right up until we're recommended that the investigation has been accomplished and the quantity owed is compensated to Mageza.”
Following Mpumalanga “gained the ideal” to host the awards for 3 many years, the then provincial Tradition, Sport and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, described it as “a boon” for the province.
“Hosting the SATMA Awards has optimistic economic spinoffs for the Mpumalanga coffers and Additionally, it talks towards the Department’s mandate of promoting social cohesion.”