SIU applies to increase lottery corruption probe

SIU applies to increase 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 top of February.
The initial proclamation only allowed the SIU to research grants produced by the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) amongst one January 2014 and seven November 2020.
The SIU is trying to find a mandate to investigate lottery-funded initiatives that drop outside the house that interval.
Furthermore, it wishes to investigate fraud and corruption linked to the NLC’s procurement of services, which was not coated ltpbet less than the initial 2020 proclamation.
The NLC has experienced new administration and board given that 2022 and has long been assisting the SIU with its investigations.
A decision on the appliance with the Special Investigating Device (SIU) with the Modification of the 2020 Presidential Proclamation mandating it to investigate corruption involving the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) and its employees, is expected by the end of the thirty day period.

This was verified through the Division of Justice’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi. “The enthusiasm was submitted for the Department late past 12 months and it is remaining organized for submission for the Minister to advise the authorisation of the amendment to the proclamation. A decision might be envisioned by the top of February 2025,” Masibi advised GroundUp.

The first proclamation only authorized the SIU to analyze grants created by the NLC between 1 January 2014 and seven November 2020. This remaining the SIU hamstrung when investigating fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s procurement of solutions and appointment of provider suppliers, which ran to hundreds of numerous rand.

In its inspiration to amend the proclamation, the SIU is trying to find a mandate letting it to investigate lottery-funded projects that tumble exterior the time period covered by the first proclamation, Considering that the NLC’s corruption continued once the proclamation was gazetted.

Although the SIU couldn’t specifically investigate procurement, simply because the first proclamation didn't contain it, it seconded two of its officers to the NLC to help it in its investigations into dodgy procurement.

GroundUp has also learned that the SIU as well as the NLC not long ago signed a completely new letter of engagement extending the connection concerning The 2 entities by a 12 months. Their agreement expired at the end of December 2024.

The NLC’s probe, which incorporates the assistance of your SIU’s seconded officers and several damning investigations by independent audit companies, means the SIU can have a bounce get started in the probe into procurement In the event the proclamation is extended.

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

The 2020 proclamation consists of an exception to the SIU to research alleged corruption that passed off prior to or once the day of its publication …“but is appropriate to, linked with, incidental or ancillary to your issues … or require exactly the same folks, entities or contracts”.

The SIU’s enthusiasm also seeks a mandate to investigate fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s source chain management as well as the procurement of providers.

The SIU previously instructed GroundUp it absolutely was investigating about seven hundred dodgy project grants, with additional tip-offs coming in. Quite a few NLC workers are facing disciplinary prices about their alleged involvement in dodgy procurement. Many others resigned after they were being charged. The SIU has also described most of those included to your police.

In 2022 the SIU instructed Parliament’s Trade, Field and Levels of competition portfolio committee that it was investigating dodgy lottery grants valued at above R1.four-billion. Previous yr SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi told the committee that the worth of dodgy grants underneath investigation had developed to above R2-billion.

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

Dodgy procurement
In 2023, the Auditor-Basic instructed the NLC’s administration to address “important inside Manage deficiencies determined 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 errors manufactured in past decades. Issues worsened the following yr, with the Auditor-Standard’s 2022 management report about the NLC revealing approximately R57-million in irregular expenditure as a result of contravention of supply chain management laws.

Amid the issues flagged in damning stories because of the Auditor-Standard, and by auditors appointed with the NLC, have been irregular expenditure on information technological know-how and sky-significant paying on legal professionals. The NLC struggled to answer a written parliamentary dilemma about its expenditure on authorized service fees, as crucial documents with aspects of multimillion-rand litigation expenditure have vanished.

A different area of problem could be the tens of countless rand in paying on media and communications, by using a disproportionate total paid out for the Sunday Globe newspaper.

Numerous rand in dodgy payments had been also produced to NLC company companies, such as a R498,000 payment to company company Neo Consulting to investigate a pc hack that never ever happened.

ProEthics, which recommended the NLC on ethics when the organisation was confused by rampant corruption, was also used to launder payments to assistance vendors. The NLC paid ProEthics in excess of R28.four-million. The organization, subsequently, said it paid other company providers around the NLC’s Directions — like a R1.7-million payment for any flash mob that never ever occurred.

The findings of independent investigations commissioned by the NLC’s new board and govt are significant in formulating disciplinary expenses towards implicated staff, which include NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene.

Nene is billed with alleged irregularities while in the appointments of and payments to several assistance providers. She is likewise accused of offering “Wrong or incomplete details in submissions justifying deviations from procurement processes”.