Lottery blocks payment to lavishly funded new music celebration
Lottery blocks payment to lavishly funded new music celebration
Blog Article
The Lottery has stopped a grant to the lavishly funded yearly SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA symbol superimposed in excess of original illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Regular Music Awards acquired about R16-million within the Lottery.
But the Lottery has withheld payment of the 2023 grant next an investigation.
The NLC has requested the Exclusive Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in a long time exactly where funders besides the NLC also chipped in to aid fund the awards.
The dimensions of funding to the once-a-year two night celebration is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga federal government has funded the awards with over R41-million immediately after it “was awarded the best” to host the SATMA awards for 3 years, beginning inside the 2020/21 money calendar year.
This continues to be Besides Lottery funding.
The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.two-million grant it in the beginning authorized for an once-a-year classic tunes awards ceremony. Precisely the same occasion also gained tens of numerous rand from your Mpumalanga provincial governing administration.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded various grants totalling Just about R16.four-million for the Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers of the yearly South African Common Music Awards (SATMA).
But it really halted the payment of a 2023 grant right after an inside investigation.
GroundUp has uncovered substantial corruption from the NLC that took place till the earlier board and management was changed in 2022. The brand new NLC leadership is trying to thoroughly clean up the corruption of the earlier.
The NLC’s investigation focused on both the 2023 funding and previously grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of around R718,000, allegedly paid out from Lottery funds to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founding father of the SATMA awards, is actually a director.
Asked if Mageza paid out G4 a licencing or any other costs to phase the awards, Goba stated: “G4 was commissioned to try and do a production of the occasion and obtained compensated for all those expert services, like to manage and generate the leading party, roadshows, etc. I'm the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I am the a single who has to be compensated for producing the idea according to affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a file of its investigation on the Particular Investigating Device (SIU). It has asked the SIU to research 4 diverse lottery-funded projects that acquired grants between October 2020 and could 2023, plus the payment to G4 Brothers.
The NLC has also questioned the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in many years wherever funders aside from the NLC also chipped in to help fund the awards.
This includes a grant of R400,000 through the Countrywide Heritage Council and just over R62,000 from “SABC Mobile” in 2020 - precisely the same economical calendar year wherein the party been given Nearly R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.5-million in the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sporting activities and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards into the tune of around R41-million just after it “was awarded the appropriate” to host the SATMA awards for three yrs, beginning from the 2020/21 monetary year.
The Mpumalanga governing administration’s funding for SATMA around that interval was substantially better than grants to every other organisation for cultural initiatives and occasions.
The MDSCR gave R3.5-million to SATMA from the 2019/twenty monetary year ahead of ramping up its contribution just after signing the settlement to host the awards around another 3 several years.
The whole price range submitted on the NLC when Mageza applied for the disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.two-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allocated for the particular staging on the function. Other line things in the budget involved R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Added benefits”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “journey.”
The awards were held on 15 December within the Durban Worldwide หวย วัน นี้ Convention Centre. Mageza suggests it urgently desires the blocked grant to pay the celebration’s provider providers.
The SATMA awards, which ended up very first held in 2006, are staged around two nights and it truly is unclear how the tens of millions in grants from your 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 price of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
As a substitute, he stated: “Your queries are mentioned. Nonetheless, we are recommended through the NLC this subject is getting investigated from the SIU. Hence, we cannot reply to your queries till we have been advised the investigation has been accomplished and the quantity owed continues to be paid out to Mageza.”
Immediately after Mpumalanga “won the best” to host the awards for 3 decades, the then provincial Culture, Activity and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, explained it as “a boon” with the province.
“Web hosting the SATMA Awards has good economic spinoffs for the Mpumalanga coffers and In addition, it talks on the Division’s mandate of selling social cohesion.”