SIU applies to extend lottery corruption probe

SIU applies to extend lottery corruption probe

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A decision on the Specific Investigation Unit’s (SIU) application to amend the 2020 Presidential Proclamation is predicted by the end of February.
The initial proclamation only permitted the SIU to analyze grants made by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) amongst one January 2014 and seven November 2020.
The SIU is trying to find a mandate to analyze lottery-funded tasks that drop exterior that period of time.
What's more, it would like to investigate fraud and corruption related to the NLC’s procurement of expert services, which wasn't covered lottovip beneath the first 2020 proclamation.
The NLC has experienced new management and board considering the fact that 2022 and is aiding the SIU with its investigations.
A choice on the application via the Exclusive Investigating Device (SIU) for that amendment of a 2020 Presidential Proclamation mandating it to investigate corruption involving the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) and its staff members, is expected by the top of the thirty day period.

This was verified via the Division of Justice’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi. “The inspiration was submitted to your Division late past 12 months and it is remaining geared up for submission for the Minister to recommend the authorisation of your amendment towards the proclamation. A call is often anticipated by the top of February 2025,” Masibi advised GroundUp.

The first proclamation only permitted the SIU to research grants produced by the NLC among one January 2014 and 7 November 2020. This remaining the SIU hamstrung when investigating fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s procurement of expert services and appointment of service suppliers, which ran to many countless rand.

In its inspiration to amend the proclamation, the SIU is looking for a mandate permitting it to research lottery-funded assignments that drop outside the interval protected by the initial proclamation, Because the NLC’s corruption ongoing after the proclamation was gazetted.

Even though the SIU couldn’t right investigate procurement, because the initial proclamation didn't contain it, it seconded two of its officers into the NLC to assist it in its investigations into dodgy procurement.

GroundUp has also uncovered which the SIU and the NLC not too long ago signed a completely new letter of engagement extending the connection in between the two entities by a yr. Their agreement expired at the end of December 2024.

The NLC’s probe, which includes the assistance of the SIU’s seconded officers and several damning investigations by independent audit companies, means the SIU will have a soar start in a very probe into procurement In the event the proclamation is prolonged.

The NLC plus the SIU have also been inundated with tip-offs. Many are from whistleblowers about dodgy grant and supply chain administration fraud and corruption, a few of which transpired right after November 2020.

The 2020 proclamation features an exception for your SIU to research alleged corruption that happened before or after the date of its publication …“but is suitable to, related with, incidental or ancillary to the issues … or contain precisely the same persons, entities or contracts”.

The SIU’s determination also seeks a mandate to investigate fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s supply chain management and the procurement of services.

The SIU Earlier instructed GroundUp it was investigating around seven hundred dodgy venture grants, with additional suggestion-offs coming in. Several NLC team are experiencing disciplinary costs regarding their alleged involvement in dodgy procurement. Other individuals resigned once they were charged. The SIU has also described most of Those people associated to the law enforcement.

In 2022 the SIU instructed Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Competitiveness portfolio committee that it had been investigating dodgy lottery grants valued at in excess of R1.4-billion. Very last yr SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi told the committee that the worth of dodgy grants below investigation experienced grown to over R2-billion.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago declined to touch upon the appliance to extend the proclamation.

Dodgy procurement
In 2023, the Auditor-Typical instructed the NLC’s management to deal with “significant inner Command deficiencies recognized to further improve procurement and contract management”. This arrived after the Auditor-Standard’s NLC audit in 2021 uncovered over R23-million in irregular expenditure and R36-million in accounting glitches manufactured in former a long time. Points worsened the following yr, Along with the Auditor-Normal’s 2022 administration report about the NLC revealing virtually R57-million in irregular expenditure a result of the contravention of provide chain administration legislation.

Among the the issues flagged in damning reports via the Auditor-Typical, and by auditors appointed because of the NLC, had been irregular expenditure on information and facts technological innovation and sky-high paying out on lawyers. The NLC struggled to answer a published parliamentary question about its expenditure on legal costs, as vital files with particulars of multimillion-rand litigation expenditure have vanished.

One more place of worry is definitely the tens of millions of rand in investing on media and communications, having a disproportionate quantity paid to your Sunday Earth newspaper.

An incredible number of rand in dodgy payments had been also made to NLC company companies, including a R498,000 payment to assistance provider Neo Consulting to research a pc hack that in no way transpired.

ProEthics, which advised the NLC on ethics when the organisation was overwhelmed by rampant corruption, was also accustomed to launder payments to assistance vendors. The NLC compensated ProEthics over R28.four-million. The organization, in turn, stated it paid other services providers on the NLC’s instructions — including a R1.seven-million payment for just a flash mob that under no circumstances occurred.

The findings of unbiased investigations commissioned with the NLC’s new board and executive have been significant in formulating disciplinary expenses versus implicated personnel, such as NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene.

Nene is billed with alleged irregularities from the appointments of and payments to several provider suppliers. She is usually accused of supplying “Fake or incomplete facts in submissions justifying deviations from procurement procedures”.