Author: Raymond Joseph
The SIU obtained an urgent interdict to freeze R10-million from the sale of a Waterkloof mansion linked to former National Lotteries Commission board member William Huma. An investigation revealed Lottery funds meant for community projects were diverted through various non-profit organisations and entities to allegedly pay for Huma’s luxury property. The Special Tribunal has granted an interim order preventing disbursement of funds pending the final hearing on 7 March 2025, as the SIU seeks to recover over R21-million in misappropriated funds. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) obtained an urgent interdict earlier this week to prevent an attorney from paying out the proceeds…
Minister Parks Tau has postponed announcing the new lottery operator for another 12 months, marking the third delay since July 2022. The lucrative licence is worth about R180-billion over five years. The current operating licence held by Ithuba expires 31 May 2025, but the bidding adjudication period for a new operator only ends May 2026. This has created uncertainty over what will happen to lottery ticket sales and NLC grant allocations after May 2025. The announcement of a new operator to run the South African lottery has been postponed for a further 12 months, creating uncertainty about the continued sale…
In 2020 the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) paid R498,000 to a private company to investigate a computer software breach that never happened. The company, Neo Solutions, is headed by controversial businessman Vivien Natasen. The amount paid was just under the R500,000 limit above which the NLC would have had to put the job out for tender. The new NLC board commissioned an investigation by TSU Investigation Services, which recommended that those involved in the transaction be reported to the police. The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) paid almost half a million rand in 2020 to a private company to investigate a…
In 2016, a R25-million Lottery grant was channelled through SASCOC to an organisation for a Rio Olympics “roadshow send-off”. Part of this was paid to a company belonging to the wife of the National Lotteries Commission board at the time. The Special Investigating Unit has referred the matter to the Hawks, and the National Lotteries Commission have also opened a case with the police. But there is growing frustration at the slow pace of the Hawks’ investigation. The National Lottery Commission’s (NLC) former board chairperson and its ex-chief operating officer, as well as former senior executives of South Africa’s official…
The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) instructed service providers to pay third parties it had appointed, thereby concealing the source of the money. The NLC ran a parallel procurement process that bypassed its official supply chain management system. Millions of rands are involved. Celebrities were paid huge fees as speakers and panellists at NLC “ethics events”. The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) used service providers to pay millions to third-party suppliers it appointed. This effectively bypassed its supply management system and concealed that it was the source of the funds, a GroundUp investigation has found. This occurred at a time when the…