- Minister Ibrahim Patel has asked the National Lottery Commission (NLC) to implement anti-corruption measures.
- These include much greater transparency in financing.
- The NLC should also implement internal processes to complete investigations into corruption in the lottery. The good work the organization is doing has been overshadowed by fraud and corruption.
- For more financial news, go to News24 Business front page.
The National Lottery Commission (NLC) has List published of the lottery grants it paid out during the first quarter (April to June) of the new fiscal year, and says it will release details on a quarterly basis, not annually like it has full of corruption previous administration.
This is one of Several measures That Minister of Commerce, Industry and Competition Ibrahim Patel has requested the implementation of the National Labor Law during the fiscal year 2023/24.
“We’re making a statement about transparency and how we’re going to do things going forward,” said Commissioner Judy Schultz, who was appointed earlier this year.
“We are determined to stop corruption and the way to do that is through transparency and giving it light and oxygen,” she said.
Although the NLC released grant payments for the first quarter, it has not yet disclosed details of grants paid in the prior fiscal year.
“We will publish the 2022/23 beneficiary information when the annual report is released [in October.] This will ensure that it is audited by the AG (Auditor General) and we can also guarantee the reliability of the information we announce.”
The minister had asked the National Action Council to publish a monthly list of recipients, but Schultz said the organization did not yet have the capacity.
“Currently, we don’t have the ability to release internally verified monthly reports, so we do this on a quarterly basis.”
Patel also asked NLC to take additional measures to tackle corruption Organization overwhelmed Under the management of the Board of Directors and the former executive and accountable officials.
These include:
- Action taken on the findings of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) so far, to complement the work of law enforcement agencies (the Special Investigations Unit, which has been investigating lottery corruption since October 2020, has already He exposed corruption of more than R1.4 billion dodgy lottery giveaways include);
- Complete the proactive funding review that has been completed In the heart lottery loot.
- Termination of investigations into transactions involving consultants over the past ten years, incl Legal institutionsIT services and PR services.
- initiate a broader investigation involving all contracts entered into by the NLC “and all channels through which payments were made by or on behalf of the NLC”;
- Review All previous forensics internal reports and consideration of recommendations for systemic changes to avoid opportunities for corruption;
- Review of the Auditor General’s findings in management reports over the past 10 years;
- support for whistleblowers who have been threatened or fired; And
- Addressing “the situation of communities or NGOs being denied the support for which the NAP funding was designed.”
in that Annual performance plan for 2023/24NLC is outspoken about the damage corruption has done to its reputation:[The] NLC’s brand building campaign aims to continuously develop a positive perception of the entity.
“Unfortunately, the wave of fraud and corruption has cast a shadow over the good work NLC is doing and the lives that have been positively affected by the proceeds generated from the sale of lottery tickets.
“Considering strengthening operations and adjusting internal controls, it is imperative that fraud risks shift to a proactive approach with the primary goal of efficiently and effectively identifying areas vulnerable to fraud, prioritizing risks, and investigating and addressing these risks before they occur.”
Scholarship information is hidden
In previous years, the NLC published monthly lists of nonprofit organizations that received lottery grants.
But that stalled after former NLC commissioner Thabang Mampani – who resigned last year after being involved in corruption Includes Grant Lottery – Set in 2012. The main reason for the decision appears to be the questions that journalist Graeme Joffe asked after each listing was published.
GroundUp’s five-year NLC investigation confirmed that many of the projects highlighted by Joffe were in fact corrupt.
Thereafter, the NLC began publishing the list of recipients only once a year in its annual report. But publishing grant recipients has been an 18-year practice Discontinued in 2019after former NLC chairman Alfred Nevhutanda claimed that the beneficiary details were stolen It is used to “generate money” for journalists.
Nevhotanda, who told the deputies he had asked the state security agency to investigate, was involved In corruption related to lottery money.
The NLC also used a section of the lottery law and the “protection” of grant recipients’ “privacy” to justify its decision.
After months of wriggling and finally diving in Bend over to press From Parliament and the media published a list of grantees. But the list of covid relief recipients, which she also posted after I refused to do so, was incomplete. The Covid relief grants, which have included several dodgy nonprofits, are now being investigated by the NLC.