The Lottery has stopped a grant for the lavishly funded once-a-year SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA brand superimposed around original illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Traditional New music Awards gained in excess of R16-million from the Lottery.
Though the Lottery has withheld payment on the 2023 grant next an investigation.
The NLC has asked the Specific Investigating Device to probe alleged “double dipping” in many years wherever funders aside from the NLC also chipped in that will help fund the awards.
The dimensions of funding for that annual two night time event is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga government has funded the awards with about R41-million after it “was awarded the appropriate” to host the SATMA awards for 3 many years, beginning from the 2020/21 financial year.
This has actually been Together with Lottery funding.
The Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.2-million grant it at first accepted for an annual conventional audio awards ceremony. The identical occasion also been given tens of a lot of rand through the Mpumalanga provincial authorities.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded several grants totalling almost R16.4-million for the Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers with the yearly South African Standard Music Awards (SATMA).
But it really halted the payment of a 2023 grant following an interior investigation.
GroundUp has uncovered significant corruption within the NLC that came about until eventually the previous board and administration was changed in 2022. The brand new NLC Management is trying to clean up up the corruption on the previous.
The NLC’s investigation centered on equally the 2023 funding and before grants awarded to Mageza to phase the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of more than R718,000, allegedly paid from Lottery funds to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founder of the SATMA awards, is usually a director.
Asked if Mageza compensated G4 a licencing or another service fees to stage the awards, Goba mentioned: “G4 was commissioned to complete a creation of the party and bought paid out for anyone expert services, like to handle and produce the key occasion, roadshows, etcetera. I am the founder of the SATMA Awards; I am the one particular who needs to be compensated for producing the principle dependant on affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a file of its investigation into the Unique Investigating Unit (SIU). It has asked the SIU to analyze 4 diverse lottery-funded initiatives that obtained grants amongst October 2020 and May 2023, as well as the payment to G4 Brothers.
The NLC has also questioned the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in decades wherever funders apart from the NLC also chipped in to aid fund the awards.
This features a grant of R400,000 from your Countrywide Heritage Council and just in excess of R62,000 from “SABC Cell” in 2020 - the exact same monetary calendar year during which the celebration received Pretty much R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.5-million from the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sporting activities and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards towards the tune of above R41-million soon after it “was awarded the appropriate” to host the SATMA awards for 3 several years, beginning in the 2020/21 financial 12 months.
The Mpumalanga govt’s funding for SATMA in excess of that time period was substantially higher than grants to any other organisation for cultural assignments and occasions.
The MDSCR gave R3.5-million to SATMA in the 2019/twenty monetary 12 months prior to ramping up its contribution after signing the arrangement to host the awards about another a few years.
The total price range submitted on the NLC when Mageza used for that disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.2-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allotted for the actual staging from the occasion. Other line items during the finances involved R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Rewards”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “travel.”
The awards ended up held on 15 December for the Durban International ผล สลาก Conference Centre. Mageza says it urgently requirements the blocked grant to pay for the occasion’s company suppliers.
The SATMA awards, which were initially held in 2006, are staged more than two evenings and it's unclear how the tens of thousands and thousands in grants in the NLC, MDCSR together with other funders were put in.
Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, did not respond to certain inquiries from GroundUp, including the price of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
As a substitute, he reported: “Your thoughts are pointed out. Having said that, we have been advised by the NLC this issue is becoming investigated via the SIU. For this reason, we can not reply to your queries until we have been advised that the investigation has long been finished and the amount owed has long been paid to Mageza.”
Soon after Mpumalanga “gained the right” to host the awards for three many years, the then provincial Tradition, Sport and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, described it as “a boon” for the province.
“Web hosting the SATMA Awards has good economic spinoffs for the Mpumalanga coffers and Additionally, it talks towards the Office’s mandate of promoting social cohesion.”