Lottery funding: Unfinished sports complex and old-age home among projects flagged as concerns by AG

702'2 John Perlman is joined by Eyewitness News reporter Lindsay Dentlinger.

The Auditor-General (AG) has reiterated concerns about the way in which the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) handles grant funding, during a briefing in Parliament.

The AG's office was briefing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on the 2023/24 audit outcomes of the NLC.

The Commission is already under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for maladministration and corruption.

As EWN's Lindsay Dentlinger reports, the AG’s three material irregularities worth R46 million were flagged for this financial year.

These include a failed sports complex project in Soweto in Gauteng, and an uncompleted old-age home in KwaZulu-Natal.

"While the AG notes TINY improvements here and there, in the main their concern is still the way in which grant allocations are made."

Lindsay Dentlinger, Reporter - Eyewitness News

"The AG's office has found that the NLC just don't have the expertise to properly adjudicate applications, they don't thoroughly investigate, they don't determine whether those who make applications for this kind of grant funding are actually capable of delivering the project. This is where the AG wants to see improvements."

Lindsay Dentlinger, Reporter - Eyewitness News

The AG also found that the approval of applications is skewed towards projects in Gauteng.

At the same time, they believe that there isn't sufficient understanding about NLC funding out there in general.

"The AG feels perhaps people don't know how to access this kind of funding that is actually available, and how to put together a decent proposal to be able to access it."

Lindsay Dentlinger, Reporter - Eyewitness News

Listen to the update in the interview audio at the top of the article