The Lottery has stopped a grant towards the lavishly funded once-a-year SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA emblem superimposed about unique illustration)

From 2019 to 2022 the South African Conventional Audio Awards gained over R16-million in the Lottery.
Though the Lottery has withheld payment from the 2023 grant adhering to an investigation.
The NLC has requested the Exclusive Investigating Device to probe alleged “double dipping” in yrs wherever funders other than the NLC also chipped in that will help fund the awards.
The scale of funding with the annual two evening occasion is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga authorities has funded the awards with about R41-million following it “was awarded the best” to host the SATMA awards for 3 yrs, commencing within the 2020/21 fiscal 12 months.
This has long been As well as Lottery funding.
The National Lotteries Fee (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.2-million grant it at first permitted for an once-a-year common new music awards ceremony. The identical occasion also been given tens of a lot of rand through the Mpumalanga provincial federal government.

From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded a number of grants totalling Nearly R16.four-million to the Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers from the yearly South African Regular Music Awards (SATMA).

But it really halted the payment of a 2023 grant soon after an internal investigation.

GroundUp has exposed enormous corruption from the NLC that occurred until eventually the previous board and management was replaced in 2022. The brand new NLC Management is aiming to cleanse up the corruption of the previous.

The NLC’s investigation centered on both the 2023 funding and earlier grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of above R718,000, allegedly paid out from Lottery funds to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founding father of the SATMA awards, is a director.

Questioned if Mageza paid G4 a licencing or any other service fees to stage the awards, Goba mentioned: “G4 was commissioned to complete a creation of the occasion and bought paid for the people companies, like to manage and make the key celebration, roadshows, etc. I am the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I'm the 1 who need to be compensated for creating the idea determined by affordability and what Mageza decides.”

The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation on the Exclusive Investigating Unit (SIU). It has questioned the SIU to research four different lottery-funded jobs that acquired grants amongst October 2020 and could 2023, as well as the payment to G4 Brothers.

The NLC has also questioned the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in several years exactly where funders besides the NLC also chipped in to help you fund the awards.

This features a grant of R400,000 in the Nationwide Heritage Council and just over R62,000 from “SABC Cellular” in 2020 - exactly the same money calendar year during which the event gained Pretty much R2.six-million in lottery funding and R13.five-million from the Mpumalanga Department of Society, Sports activities and Recreation (MDCSR).

MDCSR funded the awards into the tune of around R41-million just after it “was awarded the ideal” to host the SATMA awards for three many years, commencing from the 2020/21 fiscal yr.

The Mpumalanga government’s funding for SATMA about that period of time was substantially larger than grants to another organisation for cultural assignments and situations.

The MDSCR gave R3.five-million to SATMA within the 2019/20 economical year in advance of ramping up its contribution following signing the arrangement to host the awards more than the following 3 yrs.

The full budget submitted to the NLC when Mageza used with the disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.two-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allocated for the particular staging of your event. Other line merchandise in the finances incorporated R400,000 for “staff salaries and Positive aspects”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “travel.”

The awards ended up held on 15 December at the Durban Worldwide ruay Conference Centre. Mageza says it urgently requires the blocked grant to pay the celebration’s support vendors.

The SATMA awards, which have been first held in 2006, are staged in excess of two evenings and it's unclear how the tens of thousands and thousands in grants in the NLC, MDCSR and various funders were put in.

Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, didn't reply to precise questions from GroundUp, including the expense of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.

As an alternative, he claimed: “Your inquiries are observed. On the other hand, we are recommended with the NLC that this matter is remaining investigated because of the SIU. Consequently, we can't reply to your queries till we've been suggested the investigation has been accomplished and the quantity owed has been paid out to Mageza.”

Immediately after Mpumalanga “received the correct” to host the awards for 3 several years, the then provincial Society, Activity and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, described it as “a boon” with the province.

“Web hosting the SATMA Awards has favourable financial spinoffs with the Mpumalanga coffers and Additionally, it talks for the Division’s mandate of marketing social cohesion.”