The Lottery has stopped a grant on the lavishly funded annual SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA symbol superimposed about unique illustration)

From 2019 to 2022 the South African Regular Songs Awards received around R16-million from your Lottery.
Nevertheless the Lottery has withheld payment with the 2023 grant following an investigation.
The NLC has asked the Unique Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in years exactly where funders aside from the NLC also chipped in that can help fund the awards.
The size of funding to the annual two night time occasion is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga government has funded the awards with around R41-million right after it “was awarded the right” to host the SATMA awards for three a long time, starting from the 2020/21 economical year.
This continues to be Besides Lottery funding.
The Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.2-million grant it at first authorized for an once-a-year regular audio awards ceremony. The exact same occasion also received tens of a lot of rand from your Mpumalanga provincial government.

From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded various grants totalling Nearly R16.4-million into the Mageza Heritage Foundation, the organisers on the once-a-year South African Traditional Songs Awards (SATMA).

But it really halted the payment of a 2023 grant soon after an inside investigation.

GroundUp has uncovered significant corruption within the NLC that happened until eventually the former board and administration was replaced in 2022. The new NLC Management is aiming to clear up the corruption with the past.

The NLC’s investigation centered on both equally the 2023 funding and previously grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of about R718,000, allegedly paid from Lottery resources to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founding father of the SATMA awards, is actually a director.

Questioned if Mageza paid G4 a licencing or another costs to phase the awards, Goba explained: “G4 was commissioned to do a manufacture of the celebration and got paid for the people services, like to handle and make the most crucial occasion, roadshows, and so forth. I'm the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I'm the 1 who have to be compensated for building the concept depending on affordability and what Mageza decides.”

The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation towards the Particular Investigating Unit (SIU). It's got requested the SIU to research 4 different lottery-funded jobs that acquired grants in between October 2020 and could 2023, and also the payment to G4 Brothers.

The NLC has also asked the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in decades the place funders other than the NLC also chipped in that can help fund the awards.

This features a grant of R400,000 in the Nationwide Heritage Council and just around R62,000 from “SABC Cell” in 2020 - the exact same monetary yr through which the function gained Just about R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.5-million within the Mpumalanga Office 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 years, starting in the 2020/21 fiscal year.

The Mpumalanga govt’s funding for SATMA more than that interval was substantially increased than grants to any other organisation for cultural assignments and situations.

The MDSCR gave R3.five-million to SATMA within the 2019/20 economic yr in advance of ramping up its contribution just after signing the settlement to host the awards over the next a few decades.

The full budget submitted to the NLC when Mageza used for that disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.2-million. But of the, only R500,000 was allocated for the actual staging with the function. Other line products in the budget bundled R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Advantages”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “journey.”

The awards were held on 15 December within the Durban International cat888 Conference Centre. Mageza says it urgently needs the blocked grant to pay the event’s provider providers.

The SATMA awards, which have been to start with held in 2006, are staged above two evenings and it is actually unclear how the tens of millions in grants through the NLC, MDCSR and other funders were invested.

Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, did not respond to particular concerns from GroundUp, including the expense of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.

Instead, he stated: “Your questions are noted. However, we are actually recommended through the NLC this make any difference is currently being investigated through the SIU. Hence, we are unable to respond to your inquiries till we have been encouraged that the investigation has become completed and the amount owed is paid out to Mageza.”

Immediately after Mpumalanga “received the right” to host the awards for 3 many years, the then provincial Culture, Sport and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, explained it as “a boon” with the province.

“Web hosting the SATMA Awards has favourable financial spinoffs to the Mpumalanga coffers and Furthermore, it talks on the Department’s mandate of advertising social cohesion.”