The Lottery has stopped a grant into the lavishly funded once-a-year SATMA awards. Illustration: Lisa Nelson (SATMA symbol superimposed over original illustration)

From 2019 to 2022 the South African Conventional New music Awards gained above R16-million in the Lottery.
However the Lottery has withheld payment of your 2023 grant subsequent an investigation.
The NLC has questioned the Unique Investigating Unit to probe alleged “double dipping” in decades in which funders besides the NLC also chipped in to help fund the awards.
The scale of funding to the yearly two evening celebration is astonishing.
The Mpumalanga government has funded the awards with around R41-million soon after it “was awarded the appropriate” to host the SATMA awards for three a long time, starting during the 2020/21 economical yr.
This is in addition to Lottery funding.
The National Lotteries Fee (NLC) is refusing to pay for a R1.2-million grant it originally accredited for an annual traditional new music awards ceremony. The exact same occasion also been given tens of an incredible number of rand in the Mpumalanga provincial government.

From 2019 to 2022 the NLC awarded various grants totalling Nearly R16.4-million towards the Mageza Heritage Basis, the organisers of your annual South African Standard Audio Awards (SATMA).

But it surely halted the payment of the 2023 grant immediately after an interior investigation.

GroundUp has exposed enormous corruption while in the NLC that came about right up until the earlier board and management was changed in 2022. The new NLC Management is trying to clean up up the corruption with the past.

The NLC’s investigation centered on each the 2023 funding and before grants awarded to Mageza to stage the awards. The investigation also probed a payment of in excess of R718,000, allegedly compensated from Lottery money to G4 Brothers, of which Dumisani Gobe, the founding father of the SATMA awards, is really a director.

Requested if Mageza compensated G4 a licencing or any other costs to phase the awards, Goba reported: “G4 was commissioned to accomplish a manufacture of the function and obtained compensated for people services, like to manage and create the key occasion, roadshows, and so on. I'm the founding father of the SATMA Awards; I am the 1 who should be compensated for creating the thought based upon affordability and what Mageza decides.”

The NLC has handed a dossier of its investigation into the Specific Investigating Device (SIU). It's questioned the SIU to investigate 4 different lottery-funded assignments that received grants amongst Oct 2020 and could 2023, plus the payment to G4 Brothers.

The NLC has also questioned the SIU to probe alleged “double dipping” in many years the place funders besides the NLC also chipped in to help fund the awards.

This includes a grant of R400,000 from the National Heritage Council and just over R62,000 from “SABC Mobile” in 2020 - exactly the same monetary year in which the party gained Practically R2.6-million in lottery funding and R13.five-million through the Mpumalanga Department of Society, Sports activities and Recreation (MDCSR).

MDCSR funded the awards to the tune of about R41-million right after it “was awarded the right” to host the SATMA awards for three decades, beginning while in the 2020/21 financial yr.

The Mpumalanga govt’s funding for SATMA over that time period was considerably increased than grants to another organisation for cultural jobs and events.

The MDSCR gave R3.five-million to SATMA in the 2019/twenty financial calendar year right before ramping up its contribution just after signing the settlement to host the awards in excess of the following a few yrs.

The whole price range submitted to the NLC when Mageza utilized for your disputed 2023 SATMA funding was R1.two-million. But of this, only R500,000 was allocated for the particular staging in the party. Other line objects in the funds included R400,000 for “personnel salaries and Added benefits”, R200,000 for “stipends” and R100,000 for “vacation.”

The awards had been held on 15 December with the Durban Intercontinental lottovip Convention Centre. Mageza suggests it urgently requirements the blocked grant to pay for the event’s provider vendors.

The SATMA awards, which had been initially held in 2006, are staged over two nights and it truly is unclear how the tens of tens of millions in grants from the NLC, MDCSR and also other funders ended up expended.

Desmond Msomi, the chairman of Mageza, didn't respond to certain queries from GroundUp, including the cost of staging a SATMA awards ceremony.

Instead, he said: “Your thoughts are pointed out. On the other hand, we are already suggested by the NLC that this matter is staying investigated through the SIU. Hence, we are unable to reply to your queries right until we're recommended which the investigation has been accomplished and the quantity owed has long been compensated to Mageza.”

Following Mpumalanga “won the correct” to host the awards for three a long time, the then provincial Tradition, Sport and Recreation MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, explained it as “a boon” with the province.

“Web hosting the SATMA Awards has beneficial economic spinoffs for your Mpumalanga coffers and In addition, it talks towards the Office’s mandate of advertising and marketing social cohesion.”