The Lottery has stopped a grant to your lavishly funded once-a-year SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA symbol superimposed more than authentic illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Standard Songs Awards received about R16-million with the Lottery.
Although the Lottery has withheld payment in the 2023 grant next an investigation.
The NLC has requested the Distinctive Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in yrs exactly where funders besides the NLC also chipped in to help fund the awards.
The scale of funding to the once-a-year two night time party is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga authorities has funded the awards with in excess of R41-million immediately after it “was awarded the right” to host the SATMA awards for 3 decades, commencing from the 2020/21 money 12 months.
This has become Besides Lottery funding.
The Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) is refusing to pay a R1.two-million grant it to begin with accepted for an once-a-year classic music awards ceremony. A similar occasion also been given tens of numerous rand within the Mpumalanga provincial authorities.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded various grants totalling almost R16.4-million for the Mageza Heritage Foundation, the organisers on the yearly South African Regular New music Awards (SATMA).
But it halted the payment of a 2023 grant following an internal investigation.
GroundUp has uncovered significant corruption during the NLC that passed off until eventually the preceding board and management was changed in 2022. The new NLC Management is trying to clean up the corruption with the past.
The NLC’s investigation centered on the two the 2023 funding and before grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of about R718,000, allegedly paid from Lottery money to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founding father of the SATMA awards, is really a director.
Requested if Mageza paid out G4 a licencing or another charges to stage the awards, Goba explained: “G4 was commissioned to carry out a production of the occasion and acquired paid out for anyone products and services, like to deal with and deliver the main event, roadshows, etcetera. I'm the founder of the SATMA Awards; I'm the just one who need to be compensated for generating the notion according to affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a file of its investigation for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). It's got asked the SIU to research 4 distinct lottery-funded jobs that obtained grants concerning Oct 2020 and May 2023, and also the payment to G4 Brothers.
The NLC has also asked the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in a long time wherever funders in addition to the NLC also chipped in to assist fund the awards.
This includes a grant of R400,000 in the National Heritage Council and just more than R62,000 from “SABC Mobile” in 2020 - the identical economic year in which the event been given Just about R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.five-million through the Mpumalanga Department of Society, Sports activities and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards to the tune of about R41-million soon after it “was awarded the right” to host the SATMA awards for three decades, beginning while in the 2020/21 financial yr.
The Mpumalanga govt’s funding for SATMA over that period was considerably larger than grants to any other organisation for cultural jobs and functions.
The MDSCR gave R3.five-million to SATMA in the 2019/twenty money year ahead of ramping up its contribution right after signing the arrangement to host the awards about another a few years.
The entire funds 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 on the party. Other line goods while in the price range included R400,000 for “staff salaries and Rewards”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “vacation.”
The awards were held on 15 December at the Durban Global หวย วัน นี้ Convention Centre. Mageza suggests it urgently desires the blocked grant to pay the celebration’s provider vendors.
The SATMA awards, which were being initially held in 2006, are staged above two evenings and it's unclear how the tens of thousands and thousands in grants in the NLC, MDCSR as well as other funders ended up used.
Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, didn't reply to specific concerns from GroundUp, including the expense of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
Rather, he said: “Your thoughts are pointed out. However, we have already been suggested from the NLC this issue is getting investigated through the SIU. Hence, we simply cannot respond to your questions right up until we are suggested the investigation has been accomplished and the quantity owed has been paid out to Mageza.”
After Mpumalanga “won the appropriate” to host the awards for 3 years, the then provincial Culture, Activity and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, explained it as “a boon” with the province.
“Web hosting the SATMA Awards has positive financial spinoffs for that Mpumalanga coffers and In addition it talks into the Section’s mandate of advertising and marketing social cohesion.”