The Lottery has stopped a grant to the lavishly funded yearly SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA symbol superimposed more than unique illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Regular Tunes Awards acquired above R16-million from the Lottery.
However the Lottery has withheld payment of your 2023 grant adhering to an investigation.
The NLC has questioned the Specific Investigating Device to probe alleged “double dipping” in a long time where by funders apart from the NLC also chipped in that will help fund the awards.
The scale of funding to the once-a-year two night time event is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga govt has funded the awards with around R41-million following it “was awarded the best” to host the SATMA awards for three a long time, beginning inside the 2020/21 fiscal yr.
This is Besides Lottery funding.
The Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) is refusing to pay a R1.two-million grant it to begin with accredited for an annual regular songs awards ceremony. The same celebration also obtained tens of a lot of rand from your Mpumalanga provincial governing administration.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded a number of grants totalling Just about R16.four-million to the Mageza Heritage Foundation, the organisers in the yearly South African Classic Tunes Awards (SATMA).
But it halted the payment of a 2023 grant after an internal investigation.
GroundUp has uncovered significant corruption in the NLC that took place until the previous board and administration was replaced in 2022. The new NLC Management is attempting to clean up up the corruption with the previous.
The NLC’s investigation focused on the two the 2023 funding and earlier grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of over R718,000, allegedly paid out from Lottery resources to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founder of the SATMA awards, is often a director.
Asked if Mageza paid out G4 a licencing or another fees to stage the awards, Goba claimed: “G4 was commissioned to do a production of the function and bought compensated for those companies, like to control and deliver the main party, roadshows, etc. I'm the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I am the a single who has to be compensated for making the idea based on affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a file of its investigation for the Unique Investigating Device (SIU). It has requested the SIU to analyze four distinctive lottery-funded assignments that received grants amongst 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 other than the NLC also chipped in to aid fund the awards.
This includes a grant of R400,000 through the Nationwide Heritage Council and just about R62,000 from “SABC Cellular” in 2020 - a similar financial calendar year wherein the celebration gained Practically R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.five-million through the Mpumalanga Division of Society, Athletics and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards for the tune of over R41-million immediately after it “was awarded the correct” to host the SATMA awards for 3 a long time, commencing within the 2020/21 money calendar year.
The Mpumalanga federal government’s funding for SATMA around that period was substantially increased than grants to almost every other organisation for cultural projects and occasions.
The MDSCR gave R3.5-million to SATMA inside the 2019/20 economic yr just before ramping up its contribution right after signing the arrangement to host the awards above the next a few yrs.
The overall price range submitted towards the NLC when Mageza used to the disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.2-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allotted for the actual staging of your function. Other line items from the price range bundled R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Positive aspects”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “vacation.”
The awards were held on 15 December with the Durban Intercontinental ruay Convention Centre. Mageza claims it urgently needs the blocked grant to pay the celebration’s services suppliers.
The SATMA awards, which were being initial held in 2006, are staged in excess of two evenings and it is unclear how the tens of hundreds of thousands in grants through the NLC, MDCSR and various funders were being spent.
Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, didn't reply to distinct inquiries from GroundUp, including the cost of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
Instead, he said: “Your thoughts are observed. Even so, we are already advised because of the NLC that this make any difference is getting investigated by the SIU. For this reason, we can not reply to your thoughts right up until we've been encouraged that the investigation is concluded and the quantity owed has been paid to Mageza.”
Right after Mpumalanga “gained the best” to host the awards for three several years, the then provincial Tradition, Sport and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, explained it as “a boon” with the province.
“Web hosting the SATMA Awards has beneficial economic spinoffs for the Mpumalanga coffers and Additionally, it talks to the Section’s mandate of selling social cohesion.”