A call on the Exclusive Investigation Unit’s (SIU) software to amend the 2020 Presidential Proclamation is anticipated by the end of February.
The initial proclamation only authorized the SIU to research grants produced by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) involving 1 January 2014 and seven November 2020.
The SIU is trying to find a mandate to investigate lottery-funded initiatives that tumble exterior that period.
It also needs to investigate fraud and corruption relevant to the NLC’s procurement of solutions, which wasn't protected lottovip less than the first 2020 proclamation.
The NLC has experienced new administration and board since 2022 and is assisting the SIU with its investigations.
A call on the applying because of the Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) for the Modification of a 2020 Presidential Proclamation mandating it to analyze corruption involving the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) and its staff members, is expected by the top from the thirty day period.
This was confirmed via the Division of Justice’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi. “The motivation was submitted into the Division late past yr which is becoming geared up for submission into the Minister to advise the authorisation from the amendment to the proclamation. A choice might be predicted by the tip of February 2025,” Masibi instructed GroundUp.
The initial proclamation only permitted the SIU to research grants made by the NLC amongst 1 January 2014 and 7 November 2020. This left the SIU hamstrung when investigating fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s procurement of providers and appointment of assistance companies, which ran to a huge selection of countless rand.
In its inspiration to amend the proclamation, the SIU is seeking a mandate allowing for it to investigate lottery-funded initiatives that fall exterior the interval covered by the initial proclamation, Considering that the NLC’s corruption continued following the proclamation was gazetted.
Even though the SIU couldn’t straight look into procurement, due to the fact the first proclamation didn't contain it, it seconded two of its officials into the NLC to aid it in its investigations into dodgy procurement.
GroundUp has also realized the SIU as well as NLC a short while ago signed a brand new letter of engagement extending the relationship concerning The 2 entities by a yr. Their deal expired at the conclusion of December 2024.
The NLC’s probe, which includes the assistance of your SIU’s seconded officials and several damning investigations by impartial audit firms, implies the SIU will have a soar start off inside a probe into procurement if the proclamation is extended.
The NLC as well as the SIU have also been inundated with suggestion-offs. Many are from whistleblowers about dodgy grant and supply chain administration fraud and corruption, a few of which transpired just after November 2020.
The 2020 proclamation involves an exception with the SIU to investigate alleged corruption that came about in advance of or after the date of its publication …“but is appropriate to, linked with, incidental or ancillary into the issues … or involve the exact same folks, entities or contracts”.
The SIU’s motivation also seeks a mandate to investigate fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s source chain management and also the procurement of solutions.
The SIU Beforehand explained to GroundUp it absolutely was investigating in excess of 700 dodgy challenge grants, with a lot more idea-offs coming in. Numerous NLC staff are facing disciplinary prices with regards to their alleged involvement in dodgy procurement. Other individuals resigned once they ended up billed. The SIU has also reported lots of These concerned for the law enforcement.
In 2022 the SIU advised Parliament’s Trade, Field and Competitiveness portfolio committee that it absolutely was investigating dodgy lottery grants valued at about R1.4-billion. Last calendar year SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained to the committee that the worth of dodgy grants below investigation experienced grown to above R2-billion.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago declined to comment on the application to increase the proclamation.
Dodgy procurement
In 2023, the Auditor-Standard instructed the NLC’s management to handle “essential internal Command deficiencies identified to boost procurement and deal management”. This arrived once the Auditor-Basic’s NLC audit in 2021 uncovered more than R23-million in irregular expenditure and R36-million in accounting problems built in prior decades. Factors worsened the subsequent 12 months, with the Auditor-General’s 2022 administration report to the NLC revealing approximately R57-million in irregular expenditure mainly because of the contravention of source chain management laws.
Among the the problems flagged in damning studies from the Auditor-Basic, and by auditors appointed via the NLC, have been irregular expenditure on info technologies and sky-superior shelling out on legal professionals. The NLC struggled to answer a composed parliamentary question about its expenditure on legal expenses, as important information with information of multimillion-rand litigation expenditure have vanished.
Another region of concern would be the tens of many rand in expending on media and communications, which has a disproportionate amount of money paid out for the Sunday Globe newspaper.
Countless rand in dodgy payments were also built to NLC provider companies, such as a R498,000 payment to service service provider Neo Consulting to investigate a pc hack that never ever happened.
ProEthics, which recommended the NLC on ethics in the event the organisation was overwhelmed by rampant corruption, was also used to launder payments to provider vendors. The NLC compensated ProEthics above R28.four-million. The corporation, subsequently, reported it compensated other assistance suppliers about the NLC’s Recommendations — which include a R1.seven-million payment for the flash mob that under no circumstances occurred.
The findings of independent investigations commissioned by the NLC’s new board and govt are crucial in formulating disciplinary costs versus implicated staff members, which includes NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene.
Nene is charged with alleged irregularities during the appointments of and payments to many service companies. She is likewise accused of providing “Fake or incomplete information and facts in submissions justifying deviations from procurement processes”.