The Lottery has stopped a grant to the lavishly funded once-a-year SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA logo superimposed about authentic illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Common Songs Awards acquired about R16-million from the Lottery.
Even so the Lottery has withheld payment in the 2023 grant subsequent an investigation.
The NLC has asked the Unique Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in yrs wherever funders in addition to the NLC also chipped in to help fund the awards.
The dimensions of funding with the once-a-year two evening function is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga authorities has funded the awards with more than R41-million right after it “was awarded the proper” to host the SATMA awards for 3 yrs, commencing while in the 2020/21 economic calendar year.
This has become Besides Lottery funding.
The Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.two-million grant it in the beginning authorised for an yearly traditional audio awards ceremony. The same function also been given tens of countless rand in the Mpumalanga provincial federal government.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded numerous grants totalling Virtually R16.four-million into the Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers with the yearly South African Traditional Tunes Awards (SATMA).
Nonetheless it halted the payment of the 2023 grant after an internal investigation.
GroundUp has exposed large corruption inside the NLC that befell till the earlier board and management was changed in 2022. The brand new NLC leadership is trying to thoroughly clean up the corruption from the earlier.
The NLC’s investigation centered on equally the 2023 funding and earlier grants awarded to Mageza to phase the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of around R718,000, allegedly compensated from Lottery money to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founder of the SATMA awards, is usually a director.
Requested if Mageza compensated G4 a licencing or almost every other costs to stage the awards, Goba reported: “G4 was commissioned to try and do a creation of the event and obtained compensated for all those products and services, like to manage and make the leading party, roadshows, etc. I am the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I am the one particular who should be compensated for producing the notion based upon affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation for the Particular Investigating Device (SIU). It's requested the SIU to research four distinct lottery-funded tasks that gained grants among October 2020 and could 2023, along with the payment to G4 Brothers.
The NLC has also questioned the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in several years exactly where funders other than the NLC also chipped in that will help fund the awards.
This includes a grant of R400,000 within the National Heritage Council and just in excess of R62,000 from “SABC Cell” in 2020 - precisely the same economical year through which the celebration been given Virtually R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.5-million in the Mpumalanga Division of Society, Sports and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards for the tune of in excess of R41-million just after it “was awarded the ideal” to host the SATMA awards for 3 several years, beginning within the 2020/21 monetary calendar year.
The Mpumalanga government’s funding for SATMA over that period of time was considerably greater than grants to another organisation for cultural initiatives and occasions.
The MDSCR gave R3.five-million to SATMA within the 2019/twenty monetary 12 months just before ramping up its contribution following signing the arrangement to host the awards over the following 3 years.
The whole spending plan submitted for the NLC when Mageza applied to the disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.2-million. But of the, only R500,000 was allocated for the particular staging of your party. Other line things inside the spending budget bundled R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Advantages”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “vacation.”
The awards have been held on fifteen December with the Durban International เช ค หวย Conference Centre. Mageza says it urgently needs the blocked grant to pay for the occasion’s company companies.
The SATMA awards, which were being very first held in 2006, are staged over two evenings and it's unclear how the tens of thousands and thousands in grants from the NLC, MDCSR together with other funders were invested.
Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, did not respond to specific queries from GroundUp, including the price of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
In its place, he said: “Your concerns are noted. Nevertheless, we are already recommended with the NLC that this matter is being investigated via the SIU. For this reason, we are unable to respond to your thoughts right until we're advised the investigation has been concluded and the amount owed has become compensated to Mageza.”
Soon after Mpumalanga “received the proper” to host the awards for three yrs, the then provincial Society, Activity and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, explained it as “a boon” for the province.
“Hosting the SATMA Awards has positive financial spinoffs with the Mpumalanga coffers and it also talks to the Office’s mandate of advertising and marketing social cohesion.”