SIU applies to lengthen lottery corruption probe

SIU applies to lengthen lottery corruption probe

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A choice about the Special Investigation Device’s (SIU) application to amend the 2020 Presidential Proclamation is predicted by the end of February.
The first proclamation only authorized the SIU to investigate grants created by the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) among one January 2014 and seven November 2020.
The SIU is looking for a mandate to research lottery-funded initiatives that tumble outside the house that interval.
Furthermore, it needs to research fraud and corruption connected to the NLC’s procurement of services, which wasn't included หวย ออก below the initial 2020 proclamation.
The NLC has had new management and board considering that 2022 and has been helping the SIU with its investigations.
A call on the appliance because of the Specific Investigating Unit (SIU) for the Modification of a 2020 Presidential Proclamation mandating it to analyze corruption involving the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) and its staff members, is anticipated by the end with the month.

This was verified because of the Department of Justice’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi. “The commitment was submitted on the Office late last yr and is particularly getting organized for submission to the Minister to advise the authorisation on the Modification to your proclamation. A call can be expected by the end of February 2025,” Masibi told GroundUp.

The original proclamation only authorized the SIU to research grants made by the NLC in between 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 commitment to amend the proclamation, the SIU is trying to get a mandate making it possible for it to investigate lottery-funded initiatives that fall exterior the period protected by the original proclamation, Considering that the NLC’s corruption continued following the proclamation was gazetted.

Even though the SIU couldn’t immediately examine procurement, simply because the initial proclamation didn't consist of it, it seconded two of its officials for the NLC to help it in its investigations into dodgy procurement.

GroundUp has also figured out which the SIU and also the NLC just lately signed a different letter of engagement extending the connection among the two entities by a year. Their agreement expired at the end of December 2024.

The NLC’s probe, which includes the aid with the SIU’s seconded officials and several other damning investigations by impartial audit organizations, indicates the SIU may have a soar start off in a probe into procurement Should the proclamation is extended.

The NLC and the SIU have also been inundated with suggestion-offs. Most are from whistleblowers about dodgy grant and provide chain management fraud and corruption, a number of which happened right after November 2020.

The 2020 proclamation incorporates an exception for the SIU to investigate alleged corruption that happened just before or after the date of its publication …“but is related to, connected with, incidental or ancillary to the issues … or entail the exact same people, entities or contracts”.

The SIU’s drive also seeks a mandate to investigate fraud and corruption involving the NLC’s supply chain administration plus the procurement of providers.

The SIU Beforehand advised GroundUp it absolutely was investigating more than seven hundred dodgy project grants, with extra tip-offs coming in. Various NLC employees are struggling with disciplinary fees with regards to their alleged involvement in dodgy procurement. Other people resigned once they were being billed. The SIU has also reported many of Individuals concerned on the police.

In 2022 the SIU told Parliament’s Trade, Field and Opposition portfolio committee that it was investigating dodgy lottery grants valued at about R1.four-billion. Very last yr SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi told the committee that the value of dodgy grants under investigation experienced 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-Basic instructed the NLC’s administration to deal with “crucial interior Manage deficiencies determined to enhance procurement and agreement administration”. This came after the Auditor-Basic’s NLC audit in 2021 uncovered greater than R23-million in irregular expenditure and R36-million in accounting problems built in prior yrs. Things worsened the subsequent yr, While using the Auditor-Typical’s 2022 administration report to the NLC revealing virtually R57-million in irregular expenditure due to contravention of provide chain administration legislation.

Amid the issues flagged in damning studies with the Auditor-Basic, and by auditors appointed through the NLC, were being irregular expenditure on facts technology and sky-significant paying on legal professionals. The NLC struggled to reply a prepared parliamentary question about its expenditure on legal expenses, as key files with specifics of multimillion-rand litigation expenditure have vanished.

Another place of issue is the tens of numerous rand in shelling out on media and communications, by using a disproportionate sum paid to the Sunday Environment newspaper.

Many rand in dodgy payments ended up also manufactured to NLC support providers, together with a R498,000 payment to provider provider Neo Consulting to research a pc hack that in no way took place.

ProEthics, which encouraged the NLC on ethics when the organisation was overwhelmed by rampant corruption, was also accustomed to launder payments to company providers. The NLC paid ProEthics in excess of R28.four-million. The company, in turn, mentioned it paid out other assistance vendors on the NLC’s Directions — which includes a R1.7-million payment for the flash mob that under no circumstances took place.

The findings of unbiased investigations commissioned via the NLC’s new board and government are already crucial in formulating disciplinary charges versus implicated staff members, which includes NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene.

Nene is billed with alleged irregularities in the appointments of and payments to various services suppliers. She is also accused of furnishing “Fake or incomplete facts in submissions justifying deviations from procurement procedures”.