The Lottery has stopped a grant into the lavishly funded annual SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA logo superimposed more than primary illustration)
From 2019 to 2022 the South African Classic New music Awards obtained above R16-million with the Lottery.
Even so the Lottery has withheld payment of your 2023 grant pursuing an investigation.
The NLC has requested the Specific Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in a long time exactly where funders other than the NLC also chipped in that can help fund the awards.
The scale of funding for that annual two night celebration is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga authorities has funded the awards with about R41-million right after it “was awarded the appropriate” to host the SATMA awards for 3 years, starting while in the 2020/21 economical calendar year.
This continues to be in addition to Lottery funding.
The Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) is refusing to pay a R1.2-million grant it initially authorised for an yearly standard music awards ceremony. The same celebration also acquired tens of numerous rand from the Mpumalanga provincial governing administration.
From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded a number of grants totalling Pretty much R16.4-million for the Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers of your annual South African Conventional Audio Awards (SATMA).
But it really halted the payment of the 2023 grant after an internal investigation.
GroundUp has exposed enormous corruption inside the NLC that passed off right until the former board and administration was replaced in 2022. The new NLC Management is trying to thoroughly clean up the corruption from the earlier.
The NLC’s investigation focused on each the 2023 funding and before grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of over R718,000, allegedly paid out from Lottery funds to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founding father of the SATMA awards, is actually a director.
Questioned if Mageza paid out G4 a licencing or any other expenses to stage the awards, Goba claimed: “G4 was commissioned to complete a manufacture of the party and received paid out for the people solutions, like to handle and develop the main event, roadshows, etc. I'm the founder of the SATMA Awards; I am the 1 who has to be compensated for generating the strategy based upon affordability and what Mageza decides.”
The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation for the Specific Investigating Unit (SIU). It's asked the SIU to analyze four unique lottery-funded initiatives that obtained grants between October 2020 and May 2023, as well as the payment to G4 Brothers.
The NLC has also requested the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in decades exactly where funders besides the NLC also chipped in to assist fund the awards.
This includes a grant of R400,000 with the Countrywide Heritage Council and just above R62,000 from “SABC Cellular” in 2020 - the identical money calendar year in which the event obtained Virtually R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.five-million within the Mpumalanga Office of Society, Athletics and Recreation (MDCSR).
MDCSR funded the awards on the tune of above R41-million following it “was awarded the right” to host the SATMA awards for 3 many years, commencing inside the 2020/21 economical yr.
The Mpumalanga govt’s funding for SATMA above that period of time was significantly greater than grants to almost every other organisation for cultural jobs and activities.
The MDSCR gave R3.5-million to SATMA from the 2019/twenty financial year just before ramping up its contribution soon after signing the arrangement to host the awards in excess of the following three many years.
The entire spending budget submitted to the NLC when Mageza used to the disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.2-million. But of the, only R500,000 was allocated for the particular staging in the event. Other line goods inside the budget provided R400,000 for “staff salaries and Rewards”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “vacation.”
The awards had been held on 15 December within the Durban International ltpbet Convention Centre. Mageza claims it urgently requirements the blocked grant to pay for the event’s provider 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 millions in grants from your NLC, MDCSR and various funders were invested.
Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, did not reply to unique questions from GroundUp, such as the price of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.
As a substitute, he claimed: “Your issues are famous. Nonetheless, we have already been advised via the NLC that this make any difference is staying investigated from the SIU. Hence, we are not able to reply to your queries right until we're suggested which the investigation continues to be accomplished and the quantity owed has long been paid to Mageza.”
Right after Mpumalanga “gained the appropriate” to host the awards for 3 yrs, the then provincial Society, Activity and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, described it as “a boon” to the province.
“Internet hosting the SATMA Awards has optimistic economic spinoffs with the Mpumalanga coffers and it also talks to the Section’s mandate of selling social cohesion.”