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NLC refuse to disclose Covid-19 relief fund beneficiaries

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Dear MyPE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has requested that the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) appear before Parliament’portfolio committee on trade, industry and competition to come clean on all the organisations that have received funding from their Covid-19 Relief Fund.

We have been reliably informed that these funds may have been used to finish off infrastructure projects where money had previously been misappropriated to bankroll connected individuals’ lavish lifestyles.

Following the NLC’s release of guidelines for its Covid-19 Relief Fund on 6 May 2020, the DA called on the Commission to add to its ‘delinquency register’ those NPOs and NGO’s currently under investigation for the misappropriation of funds to be barred from receiving funding.

We also requested that the Director General of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) submit a full written list of all NPOs and NGOs that had received funds from the NLC. The responses received were less than satisfactory as the NLC excluded the names of the beneficiaries despite an explicit request for them to do so – in line with similar requests for the names of beneficiaries of other Civod-19 related funds within the DTIC.

Unhappy with a clear attempt to avoid parliamentary accountability by the NLC, the DA escalated this issue to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on DTIC. Who distributed a further response from the NLC in which they stated that:

The information requested is classified as grant information as defined in the Regulations of the Lotteries Act, No. 57 of 1997(Lotteries Act), as amended.

We are of the view that the NLC’s response is deficient, as up until the 2017-2018 financial year the NLC publicised a list of its beneficiaries annually. Their refusal to disclose the Covid-19 relief beneficiaries was in clear violation of the precedent set by the NLC themselves, and raises red flags as to whether they are trying to hide something.

It is ultimately in the public interest for the expenditure of taxpayer’s money to be accounted for and overseen by the legislative arm of the state i.e. Parliament and its portfolio committees. Failure to disclose this information further violates the principles of transparency and accountability required in a parliamentary democracy such as South Africa.

The actions of the NLC indicate a clear attempt to whitewash alleged corruption at the entity and a failure to act in the interests of public. It is for this reason that we have requested that the NLC appear before Parliament to account for its actions as soon as possible so that this rogue entity is brought to book for its litany of misdeeds and acts against the public interest.

Regards

Mat Cuthbert MP
DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry and Economic Development

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