Lotteries senior personnel suspended following allegations of corruption

The crackdown on corruption at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) is gathering momentum, with the suspension of five key staff members.

One of them, Tendo Ramogoma, NLC legal executive, resigned soon after he was suspended a few weeks ago.

Hearings

This follows the earlier resignations – both with immediate effect – of former NLC commissioner Thabang Mampane and former chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, both of whom were facing disciplinary hearings involving lottery funds. Former board member William Huma also resigned last year after he was confronted with allegations of corruption on his part.

The officials, who were all placed on suspension over the past few weeks, have all been suspended on full pay. Their disciplinary hearings are expected to begin early next year.

Acting NLC spokesperson Odaho Ntsana confirmed that five officials had been suspended and one had resigned. “Disciplinary procedures are underway,” said Ntsana.

Act decisively

“The National Lotteries Commission has made a commitment in parliament and to the public to act decisively against all allegations of fraud, corruption and financial misconduct.”

Ramogoma was appointed to his position after the sudden resignation of the NLC’s head legal person Tsietsi Maselwa. He acted briefly as NLC commissioner after Mampane took leave when it was revealed her home had allegedly been paid for with funds allocated to build a school in Limpopo. She resigned without ever returning to work.

Hundreds of millions in grants without application

Ramogoma is a former deputy chair of the NLC’s Arts and Culture Distributing Agency. He also chaired a committee that oversaw proactive funding, which allowed the NLC to allocate hundreds of millions of rands in grants without requiring an application.

ALSO READ: Former Lottery boss personally recommended R4.8m grant for his wife’s company

Proactive funding, which was at the heart of the looting of the lottery, has been stopped by the NLC’s new board.

Both the Hawks and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) are investigating Maselwa over his alleged involvement in the massive corruption that has consumed the NLC, estimated by the SIU to amount to at least R1.4 billion.

The officials who are suspended all hold senior jobs at the NLC.

Suspended officials:

v Marubini Ramatsekisa, head of risk unit, which is charged with rooting out corruption. Ramatsekisa, who was closely involved in monitoring proactively funded infrastructure projects, had a meteoric rise in the NLC. From being a project manager in 2020 he was catapulted into one of the most important and senior roles at the NLC.

-Nompumelelo Nene, company secretary, who is also an advocate.

-Mogoboya Matsebatlela, senior manager supply chain and facilities.

-Ndivhuho Mafela, spokesperson and head of stakeholder relations, marketing and communications.

– Lionel October, acting NLC commissioner, who has led the cleanup of the NLC, left the post yesterday when his contract ended.

This article first appeared on GroundUp and was republished with permission. Read the original article here

ALSO READ: Lottery corruption: Preservation order granted for luxury homes, cars, restaurants worth R22m