SIU applies to extend lottery corruption probe

SIU applies to extend lottery corruption probe

Blog Article

A call to the Special Investigation Device’s (SIU) software to amend the 2020 Presidential Proclamation is anticipated by the end of February.
The initial proclamation only authorized the SIU to research grants produced by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) concerning 1 January 2014 and 7 November 2020.
The SIU is seeking a mandate to investigate lottery-funded assignments that slide exterior that period of time.
It also wants to analyze fraud and corruption connected to the NLC’s procurement of solutions, which wasn't included หวย less than the original 2020 proclamation.
The NLC has experienced new administration and board due to the fact 2022 and has long been helping the SIU with its investigations.
A choice on the application by the Distinctive Investigating Unit (SIU) for the Modification of a 2020 Presidential Proclamation mandating it to research corruption involving the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and its employees, is anticipated by the top in the thirty day period.

This was confirmed with the Department of Justice’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi. “The enthusiasm was submitted into the Department late previous calendar year and is getting well prepared for submission into the Minister to recommend the authorisation from the amendment towards the proclamation. A decision may be expected by the top of February 2025,” Masibi explained to GroundUp.

The initial proclamation only permitted the SIU to investigate grants produced by the NLC amongst 1 January 2014 and seven November 2020. This still left the SIU hamstrung when investigating fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s procurement of providers and appointment of services vendors, which ran to countless numerous rand.

In its motivation to amend the proclamation, the SIU is in search of a mandate permitting it to research lottery-funded jobs that fall exterior the interval covered by the original proclamation, Because the NLC’s corruption continued following the proclamation was gazetted.

Although the SIU couldn’t specifically look into procurement, for the reason that the first proclamation didn't involve it, it seconded two of its officers on the NLC to help it in its investigations into dodgy procurement.

GroundUp has also realized that the SIU and the NLC recently signed a completely new letter of engagement extending the connection in between The 2 entities by a yr. Their deal expired at the end of December 2024.

The NLC’s probe, which incorporates the help of your SIU’s seconded officials and several other damning investigations by independent audit firms, means the SIU could have a bounce commence in a very probe into procurement if the proclamation is extended.

The NLC as well as the SIU have also been inundated with suggestion-offs. Many are from whistleblowers about dodgy grant and supply chain management fraud and corruption, a number of which transpired soon after November 2020.

The 2020 proclamation involves an exception to the SIU to research alleged corruption that occurred just before or after the day of its publication …“but is appropriate to, connected with, incidental or ancillary to the issues … or involve the same people, entities or contracts”.

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

The SIU previously advised GroundUp it absolutely was investigating over 700 dodgy task grants, with extra tip-offs coming in. A number of NLC personnel are experiencing disciplinary rates with regards to their alleged involvement in dodgy procurement. Other people resigned after they were being billed. The SIU has also described a lot of These involved into the law enforcement.

In 2022 the SIU advised Parliament’s Trade, Business and Competitors portfolio committee that it absolutely was investigating dodgy lottery grants valued at above R1.four-billion. Previous year SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi advised the committee that the worth of dodgy grants beneath investigation experienced developed to above R2-billion.

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

Dodgy procurement
In 2023, the Auditor-Standard instructed the NLC’s administration to deal with “essential inner Regulate deficiencies discovered to improve procurement and contract administration”. This arrived once the Auditor-General’s NLC audit in 2021 uncovered greater than R23-million in irregular expenditure and R36-million in accounting mistakes created in earlier a long time. Items worsened the following calendar year, While using the Auditor-Normal’s 2022 management report on the NLC revealing approximately R57-million in irregular expenditure due to contravention of provide chain administration legislation.

Amid the problems flagged in damning reviews via the Auditor-Basic, and by auditors appointed via the NLC, had been irregular expenditure on information and facts engineering and sky-significant spending on lawyers. The NLC struggled to answer a created parliamentary concern about its expenditure on authorized costs, as essential documents with information of multimillion-rand litigation expenditure have vanished.

A different place of problem may be the tens of numerous rand in investing on media and communications, with a disproportionate amount of money paid out to the Sunday Earth newspaper.

An incredible number of rand in dodgy payments were also designed to NLC services suppliers, such as a R498,000 payment to assistance provider Neo Consulting to research a computer hack that hardly ever happened.

ProEthics, which suggested the NLC on ethics once the organisation was overcome by rampant corruption, was also accustomed to launder payments to assistance suppliers. The NLC paid out ProEthics about R28.four-million. The corporate, consequently, explained it paid other services providers on the NLC’s Guidance — together with a R1.7-million payment to get a flash mob that never took place.

The findings of unbiased investigations commissioned through the NLC’s new board and govt are already important in formulating disciplinary fees against implicated staff members, such as NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene.

Nene is billed with alleged irregularities within the appointments of and payments to many company providers. She can also be accused of delivering “Bogus or incomplete facts in submissions justifying deviations from procurement procedures”.