The Lottery has stopped a grant into the lavishly funded annual SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA emblem superimposed in excess of unique illustration)

From 2019 to 2022 the South African Traditional Audio Awards acquired in excess of R16-million with the Lottery.
But the Lottery has withheld payment of the 2023 grant pursuing an investigation.
The NLC has requested the Specific Investigating Device to probe alleged “double dipping” in yrs the place funders apart from the NLC also chipped in to help fund the awards.
The dimensions of funding for your once-a-year two night time occasion is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga authorities has funded the awards with above R41-million right after it “was awarded the best” to host the SATMA awards for three years, starting from the 2020/21 financial yr.
This continues to be Along with Lottery funding.
The Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.two-million grant it in the beginning authorized for an annual conventional songs awards ceremony. The identical occasion also received tens of millions of rand with the Mpumalanga provincial federal government.

From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded a number of grants totalling almost R16.4-million into the Mageza Heritage Foundation, the organisers on the once-a-year South African Standard Tunes Awards (SATMA).

However it halted the payment of a 2023 grant after an inner investigation.

GroundUp has exposed large corruption in the NLC that happened till the preceding board and management was replaced in 2022. The brand new NLC Management is aiming to clear up the corruption with the previous.

The NLC’s investigation focused on both the 2023 funding and before grants awarded to Mageza to phase the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of in excess of R718,000, allegedly paid from Lottery resources to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founder of the SATMA awards, is actually a director.

Questioned if Mageza paid out G4 a licencing or every other service fees to stage the awards, Goba claimed: “G4 was commissioned to perform a creation of the occasion and bought paid for the people solutions, like to control and produce the principle celebration, roadshows, and many others. I am the founder of the SATMA Awards; I am the 1 who has to be compensated for generating the notion depending on affordability and what Mageza decides.”

The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation to your Specific Investigating Unit (SIU). It has questioned the SIU to research 4 distinct lottery-funded tasks that received grants involving Oct 2020 and will 2023, in addition to the payment to G4 Brothers.

The NLC has also questioned the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in a long time exactly where funders in addition to the NLC also chipped in to aid 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 same economic yr through which the function gained Practically R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.5-million in the Mpumalanga Department of Lifestyle, Sports activities and Recreation (MDCSR).

MDCSR funded the awards towards the tune of over R41-million just after it “was awarded the appropriate” to host the SATMA awards for three yrs, beginning from the 2020/21 economic calendar year.

The Mpumalanga authorities’s funding for SATMA around that period was substantially increased than grants to another organisation for cultural projects and activities.

The MDSCR gave R3.5-million to SATMA inside the 2019/20 economic yr in advance of ramping up its contribution just after signing the settlement to host the awards around another 3 a long time.

The entire spending budget submitted to the NLC when Mageza utilized for your disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.two-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allotted for the actual staging with the function. Other line items from the spending budget bundled R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Positive aspects”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “vacation.”

The awards had been held on fifteen December in the Durban Global ผล สลากกินแบ่ง Conference Centre. Mageza claims it urgently requirements the blocked grant to pay for the event’s assistance providers.

The SATMA awards, which have been first held in 2006, are staged above two evenings and it's unclear how the tens of thousands and thousands in grants within the NLC, MDCSR along with other funders ended up used.

Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, didn't reply to precise thoughts from GroundUp, such as the price of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.

As a substitute, he claimed: “Your inquiries are famous. Nonetheless, we have already been advised via the NLC that this matter is staying investigated through the SIU. Therefore, we are unable to respond to your inquiries until we have been encouraged that the investigation has become done and the amount owed is paid out to Mageza.”

Just after Mpumalanga “received the proper” to host the awards for three a long time, the then provincial Lifestyle, Sport and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, described it as “a boon” for your province.

“Hosting the SATMA Awards has optimistic economic spinoffs for the Mpumalanga coffers and Additionally, it talks towards the Department’s mandate of endorsing social cohesion.”