The Lottery has stopped a grant into the lavishly funded annual SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA logo superimposed in excess of initial illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Common Tunes Awards acquired above R16-million in the Lottery.
Nevertheless the Lottery has withheld payment of the 2023 grant pursuing an investigation.
The NLC has asked the Distinctive Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in yrs exactly where funders besides the NLC also chipped in to assist fund the awards.
The size of funding with the once-a-year two night occasion is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga govt has funded the awards with around R41-million following it “was awarded the correct” to host the SATMA awards for three a long time, beginning within the 2020/21 monetary year.
This has been Along with Lottery funding.
The Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) is refusing to pay a R1.two-million grant it at first approved for an yearly conventional new music awards ceremony. The exact same occasion also been given tens of numerous rand within the Mpumalanga provincial federal government.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded quite a few grants totalling Virtually R16.4-million to your Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers of the annual South African Conventional Audio Awards (SATMA).
But it surely halted the payment of the 2023 grant immediately after an inside investigation.
GroundUp has uncovered substantial corruption while in the NLC that came about right up until the preceding board and management was changed in 2022. The new NLC Management is aiming to thoroughly clean up the corruption of the earlier.
The NLC’s investigation focused on both of those the 2023 funding and previously grants awarded to Mageza to phase the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of above R718,000, allegedly compensated from Lottery funds to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founder of the SATMA awards, is usually a director.
Asked if Mageza paid out G4 a licencing or another charges to stage the awards, Goba claimed: “G4 was commissioned to do a production of the occasion and acquired paid out for people services, like to manage and create the key occasion, roadshows, and so on. I am the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I am the 1 who should be compensated for creating the thought based upon affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation to the Exclusive Investigating Unit (SIU). It's questioned the SIU to research 4 various lottery-funded jobs that obtained grants involving October 2020 and will 2023, as well as the payment to G4 Brothers.
The NLC has also asked the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in several years where by 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 - the exact same economical 12 months where the function acquired Virtually R2.six-million in lottery funding and R13.five-million in the Mpumalanga Department of Lifestyle, Sports activities and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards to the tune of about R41-million right after it “was awarded the right” to host the SATMA awards for three decades, beginning from the 2020/21 monetary 12 months.
The Mpumalanga government’s funding for SATMA above that period of time was significantly higher than grants to every other organisation for cultural assignments and gatherings.
The MDSCR gave R3.five-million to SATMA from the 2019/twenty money 12 months in advance of ramping up its contribution just after signing the arrangement to host the awards in excess of the following three decades.
The overall funds submitted for the NLC when Mageza used to the disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.two-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allotted for the actual staging of your function. Other line merchandise while in the budget involved R400,000 for “staff salaries and Rewards”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “journey.”
The awards were being held on fifteen December in the Durban Global หวย วัน นี้ Convention Centre. Mageza suggests it urgently demands the blocked grant to pay for the occasion’s assistance providers.
The SATMA awards, which have been first held in 2006, are staged above two evenings and it is actually unclear how the tens of hundreds of thousands in grants through the NLC, MDCSR and other funders were invested.
Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, did not reply to specific questions from GroundUp, such as the expense of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
As a substitute, he claimed: “Your issues are famous. Even so, we have already been advised via the NLC that this matter is staying investigated through the SIU. Therefore, we are unable to respond to your inquiries until we're recommended which the investigation continues to be concluded and the quantity owed has been paid to Mageza.”
Right after Mpumalanga “gained the appropriate” to host the awards for 3 yrs, the then provincial Lifestyle, Activity and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, described it as “a boon” for your province.
“Hosting the SATMA Awards has positive financial spinoffs for that Mpumalanga coffers and In addition it talks to your Division’s mandate of marketing social cohesion.”