SIU applies to extend lottery corruption probe

SIU applies to extend lottery corruption probe

Blog Article

A decision on the Particular Investigation Unit’s (SIU) application to amend the 2020 Presidential Proclamation is predicted by the tip of February.
The initial proclamation only authorized the SIU to investigate grants created by the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) among 1 January 2014 and 7 November 2020.
The SIU is looking for a mandate to research lottery-funded assignments that tumble outside that period.
Furthermore, it would like to analyze fraud and corruption associated with the NLC’s procurement of providers, which was not included ตรวจ หวย รัฐบาล below the original 2020 proclamation.
The NLC has had new management and board considering that 2022 and has long been assisting the SIU with its investigations.
A decision on the application by the Particular Investigating Unit (SIU) for the Modification of a 2020 Presidential Proclamation mandating it to investigate corruption involving the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) and its workers, is predicted by the end of the thirty day period.

This was confirmed by the Section of Justice’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi. “The determination was submitted towards the Office late final calendar year and it is staying ready for submission on the Minister to suggest the authorisation on the Modification to the proclamation. A decision may be anticipated by the end of February 2025,” Masibi informed GroundUp.

The initial proclamation only allowed the SIU to analyze grants produced by the NLC concerning one January 2014 and seven November 2020. This left the SIU hamstrung when investigating fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s procurement of providers and appointment of support providers, which ran to hundreds of millions of rand.

In its drive to amend the proclamation, the SIU is trying to get a mandate letting it to investigate lottery-funded initiatives that fall exterior the period coated by the initial proclamation, Considering that the NLC’s corruption ongoing after the proclamation was gazetted.

Although the SIU couldn’t instantly look into procurement, since the initial proclamation didn't involve it, it seconded two of its officers to your NLC to aid it in its investigations into dodgy procurement.

GroundUp has also learned which the SIU and also the NLC lately signed a fresh letter of engagement extending the relationship concerning The 2 entities by a yr. Their deal expired at the end of December 2024.

The NLC’s probe, which includes the aid with the SIU’s seconded officials and several damning investigations by impartial audit businesses, suggests the SIU can have a bounce commence inside of a probe into procurement In the event the proclamation is prolonged.

The NLC and the SIU have also been inundated with tip-offs. Many are from whistleblowers about dodgy grant and supply chain management fraud and corruption, several of which happened after November 2020.

The 2020 proclamation contains an exception to the SIU to research alleged corruption that passed off in advance of or once the date of its publication …“but is appropriate to, linked with, incidental or ancillary towards the issues … or contain the same people, entities or contracts”.

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

The SIU previously instructed GroundUp it absolutely was investigating in excess of seven-hundred dodgy venture grants, with additional idea-offs coming in. Numerous NLC team are dealing with disciplinary prices with regards to their alleged involvement in dodgy procurement. Other people resigned after they have been charged. The SIU has also documented a lot of Individuals concerned on the police.

In 2022 the SIU told Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Competitors portfolio committee that it absolutely was investigating dodgy lottery grants valued at around R1.4-billion. Final calendar year SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi instructed the committee that the value of dodgy grants underneath investigation had grown to around R2-billion.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago declined to comment on the application to extend the proclamation.

Dodgy procurement
In 2023, the Auditor-Typical instructed the NLC’s management to deal with “crucial interior Management deficiencies discovered to further improve procurement and contract management”. This came after the Auditor-Standard’s NLC audit in 2021 uncovered much more than R23-million in irregular expenditure and R36-million in accounting errors produced in prior several years. Points worsened the next yr, With all the Auditor-Basic’s 2022 management report over the NLC revealing approximately R57-million in irregular expenditure mainly because of the contravention of offer chain administration laws.

Among the problems flagged in damning reviews via the Auditor-Normal, and by auditors appointed through the NLC, were being irregular expenditure on details technological know-how and sky-large expending on legal professionals. The NLC struggled to answer a composed parliamentary problem about its expenditure on lawful fees, as crucial documents with facts of multimillion-rand litigation expenditure have vanished.

An additional location of problem may be the tens of an incredible number of rand in shelling out on media and communications, using a disproportionate sum paid to your Sunday Earth newspaper.

An incredible number of rand in dodgy payments had been also built to NLC provider providers, which include a R498,000 payment to support service provider Neo Consulting to investigate a computer hack that hardly ever occurred.

ProEthics, which recommended the NLC on ethics in the event the organisation was confused by rampant corruption, was also used to launder payments to assistance vendors. The NLC paid ProEthics above R28.4-million. The corporate, subsequently, reported it compensated other assistance suppliers about the NLC’s Recommendations — which include a R1.7-million payment to get a flash mob that by no means happened.

The results of independent investigations commissioned by the NLC’s new board and govt are already essential in formulating disciplinary rates in opposition to implicated employees, which include NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene.

Nene is billed with alleged irregularities in the appointments of and payments to many company providers. She is additionally accused of giving “false or incomplete info in submissions justifying deviations from procurement processes”.