The Lottery has stopped a grant to the lavishly funded annual SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA logo superimposed in excess of first illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Standard Songs Awards received over R16-million within the Lottery.
But the Lottery has withheld payment with the 2023 grant subsequent an investigation.
The NLC has requested the Unique Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in years the place funders in addition to the NLC also chipped in to aid fund the awards.
The size of funding with the once-a-year two night time event is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga federal government has funded the awards with about R41-million after it “was awarded the right” to host the SATMA awards for 3 several years, commencing within the 2020/21 economic 12 months.
This has long been in addition to Lottery funding.
The Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.2-million grant it originally accepted for an annual common tunes awards ceremony. The same event also gained tens of millions of rand through the Mpumalanga provincial govt.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded many grants totalling Nearly R16.four-million to the Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers of the annual South African Regular Music Awards (SATMA).
Nonetheless it halted the payment of the 2023 grant just after an internal investigation.
GroundUp has uncovered significant corruption while in the NLC that took place right up until the previous board and management was replaced in 2022. The new NLC leadership is aiming to thoroughly clean up the corruption on the past.
The NLC’s investigation centered on both of those the 2023 funding and before grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of around R718,000, allegedly paid out from Lottery money to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founding father of the SATMA awards, is usually a director.
Asked if Mageza paid out G4 a licencing or another service fees to stage the awards, Goba explained: “G4 was commissioned to accomplish a production of the celebration and got paid out for people providers, like to deal with and create the most crucial function, roadshows, etc. I'm the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I'm the a single who must be compensated for producing the thought depending on affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation towards the Particular Investigating Unit (SIU). It's got questioned the SIU to investigate 4 different lottery-funded projects that obtained grants amongst Oct 2020 and should 2023, together with the payment to G4 Brothers.
The NLC has also questioned the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in decades wherever funders other than the NLC also chipped in that will help fund the awards.
This includes a grant of R400,000 from your Nationwide Heritage Council and just about R62,000 from “SABC Mobile” in 2020 - exactly the same financial yr where the party received almost R2.six-million in lottery funding and R13.5-million from your Mpumalanga Department of Society, Sports and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards towards the tune of over R41-million following it “was awarded the ideal” to host the SATMA awards for three years, commencing while in the 2020/21 monetary calendar year.
The Mpumalanga govt’s funding for SATMA more than that period of time was significantly better than grants to every other organisation for cultural initiatives and events.
The MDSCR gave R3.5-million to SATMA while in the 2019/twenty economical year just before ramping up its contribution immediately after signing the arrangement to host the awards in excess of the subsequent 3 a long time.
The whole finances submitted to your NLC when Mageza utilized for the disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.two-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allotted for the actual staging from the event. Other line merchandise from the price range bundled R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Gains”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “travel.”
The awards ended up held on fifteen December on the Durban Global hihuay Convention Centre. Mageza says it urgently desires the blocked grant to pay the function’s service suppliers.
The SATMA awards, which were being 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 and other funders had been invested.
Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, did not respond to particular concerns from GroundUp, including the expense of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
Instead, he said: “Your questions are pointed out. Having said that, we have been encouraged with the NLC that this subject is getting investigated by the SIU. For this reason, we can not reply to your questions until eventually we are suggested the investigation has been accomplished and the quantity owed has long been paid to Mageza.”
Right after Mpumalanga “gained the appropriate” to host the awards for 3 yrs, the then provincial Society, Activity and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, described it as “a boon” to the province.
“Hosting the SATMA Awards has optimistic economic spinoffs with the Mpumalanga coffers and it also talks into the Section’s mandate of selling social cohesion.”