SIU applies to increase lottery corruption probe

SIU applies to increase lottery corruption probe

Blog Article

A call about the Exclusive Investigation Unit’s (SIU) software 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) among 1 January 2014 and 7 November 2020.
The SIU is trying to get a mandate to analyze lottery-funded projects that tumble outside the house that interval.
It also wants to analyze fraud and corruption related to the NLC’s procurement of services, which wasn't coated hihuay less than the first 2020 proclamation.
The NLC has experienced new management and board considering that 2022 and has long been helping the SIU with its investigations.
A choice on the appliance through the Unique Investigating Device (SIU) to the amendment of the 2020 Presidential Proclamation mandating it to investigate corruption involving the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) and its staff members, is expected by the top from the thirty day period.

This was confirmed with the Office of Justice’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi. “The enthusiasm was submitted to the Division late very last calendar year and it is staying prepared for submission for the Minister to propose the authorisation of your Modification into the proclamation. A call can be envisioned by the top of February 2025,” Masibi instructed GroundUp.

The initial proclamation only allowed the SIU to analyze grants produced by the NLC amongst 1 January 2014 and seven November 2020. This remaining the SIU hamstrung when investigating fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s procurement of expert services and appointment of provider providers, which ran to hundreds of a lot of rand.

In its enthusiasm to amend the proclamation, the SIU is looking for a mandate allowing for it to investigate lottery-funded assignments that tumble outside the time period protected by the first proclamation, since the NLC’s corruption continued after the proclamation was gazetted.

Although the SIU couldn’t immediately examine procurement, due to the fact the initial proclamation did not incorporate it, it seconded two of its officials for the NLC to assist it in its investigations into dodgy procurement.

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

The NLC’s probe, which incorporates the guidance in the SIU’s seconded officers and several damning investigations by impartial audit companies, signifies the SIU will have a leap start out in a probe into procurement In case the proclamation is prolonged.

The NLC as well as SIU have also been inundated with idea-offs. Most are from whistleblowers about dodgy grant and provide chain administration fraud and corruption, several of which happened just after November 2020.

The 2020 proclamation includes an exception for the SIU to investigate alleged corruption that took place right before or following the date of its publication …“but is relevant to, related with, incidental or ancillary on the matters … or require precisely the same persons, entities or contracts”.

The SIU’s commitment also seeks a mandate to investigate fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s source chain management along with the procurement of solutions.

The SIU Earlier explained to GroundUp it was investigating about seven-hundred dodgy undertaking grants, with additional idea-offs coming in. A number of NLC personnel are struggling with disciplinary charges about their alleged involvement in dodgy procurement. Other individuals resigned after they had been billed. The SIU has also claimed lots of People concerned towards the law enforcement.

In 2022 the SIU instructed Parliament’s Trade, Market and Competitiveness portfolio committee that it was investigating dodgy lottery grants valued at about R1.4-billion. Very last yr SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi explained to 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 appliance to increase the proclamation.

Dodgy procurement
In 2023, the Auditor-Typical instructed the NLC’s management to address “critical interior control deficiencies identified to enhance procurement and agreement management”. This came after the Auditor-Basic’s NLC audit in 2021 uncovered a lot more than R23-million in irregular expenditure and R36-million in accounting glitches designed in past yrs. Points worsened the next yr, Using the Auditor-General’s 2022 administration report within the NLC revealing almost R57-million in irregular expenditure due to the contravention of offer chain administration legislation.

Among the the issues flagged in damning stories from the Auditor-Typical, and by auditors appointed with the NLC, were being irregular expenditure on details technological know-how and sky-large paying out on legal professionals. The NLC struggled to reply a penned parliamentary question about its expenditure on legal charges, as important files with particulars of multimillion-rand litigation expenditure have vanished.

Yet another location of concern is the tens of countless rand in spending on media and communications, which has a disproportionate total paid into the Sunday Entire world newspaper.

Countless rand in dodgy payments were being also created to NLC company companies, together with a R498,000 payment to support service provider Neo Consulting to analyze a computer hack that in no way took place.

ProEthics, which encouraged the NLC on ethics in the event the organisation was overwhelmed by rampant corruption, was also used to launder payments to services providers. The NLC paid ProEthics more than R28.4-million. The company, in turn, said it compensated other assistance suppliers within the NLC’s Guidelines — which includes a R1.seven-million payment for the flash mob that never ever happened.

The results of independent investigations commissioned because of the NLC’s new board and government happen to be vital in formulating disciplinary fees against implicated staff members, such as NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene.

Nene is billed with alleged irregularities inside the appointments of and payments to various service providers. She is additionally accused of giving “Phony or incomplete information in submissions justifying deviations from procurement procedures”.