Athletics

South Africa: Thriller of R3-Million in Lottery Funds Paid to Athletics South Africa

ASA says it was unaware of the cost

  • In 2018, R3-million was paid to Athletics South Africa (ASA) by Make Me Motion (MMM), an organisation that labored with victims of GBV, however was hijacked by lottery looters.
  • MMM had obtained R18-million from the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) for a bogus rural biking venture.
  • Biking SA, the nationwide physique which oversees the game in South Africa, says “biking growth falls exterior of ASA’s space of duty and experience”.

Hundreds of thousands of rands from a lottery grant meant for a rural biking venture had been paid to Athletics South Africa (ASA) in 2018. The R3-million cost got here from a non-profit working with victims of gender-based violence, Make Me Motion (MMM), which was hijacked by lottery looters and used to use for an R18-million grant for “biking growth in rural areas”.

However the biking venture by no means befell, and ASA says it has no data of the R3-million funds. In the meantime, Biking SA, the nationwide physique which oversees the game in South Africa, says “biking growth falls exterior of ASA’s space of duty and experience”.

Sifiso Cele, spokesperson for ASA, stated the primary time the physique grew to become conscious of the R3-million cost was final week when GroundUp despatched a question about it.

“ASA would moderately not remark at this stage to create room to take a look at this internally,” he stated.

Appearing CEO

ASA’s finance supervisor on the time of the mysterious R3-million cost was Terrence Magogodela. He was implicated in one other dodgy Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) grant software, wherein he claimed to be the director of a multimillion-rand athletics monitor venture in Kimberley. He was subsequently listed as a respondent in a 2022 Particular Tribunal preservation order associated to the dodgy monitor venture, and later admitted that he used a part of the funds to pay switch and authorized charges for his new home.

Magogodela was promoted and is now ASA’s appearing chief govt officer.

In April final 12 months, Magogodela repaid nearly R400,000 of the “ill-gained” lottery funds. The SIU made it clear on the time that he might nonetheless be prosecuted: “[The] SIU stays entitled to hitch Mr Magogodela in any future continuing and declare applicable aid from him.”

His legal professional, Dev Maharaj, beforehand informed GroundUp that he can be “very stunned if he [Magogodela] is prosecuted as he has co-operated totally with the NPA and expects to be a witness for the state”.

Requested in regards to the R3-million cost and what it was for, Magogodela informed GroundUp: “Non-profit organisations akin to ASA are anticipated to maintain data as much as 5 years. The dates talked about within the graphics are round seven years in the past, and people data are most tough to retrieve and will have been disposed [of].”

“Please allow us to have extra particulars relating to the difficulty and the supply paperwork that you’ve got seen to allow us to contemplate whether or not we’re in a position to present any readability,” he added.

The R3-million cost to ASA by MMM was highlighted in a SIU graphic (see 9 September 2018) illustrating how thousands and thousands of rand from the R18-million MMM grant had been corruptly misappropriated. The primary beneficiaries had been Collin Tshisimba and his “life accomplice”, Fulufhelo Promise Kharivhe. The SIU has recognized the couple as kingpins within the looting of the NLC. We despatched a question to Tshisimba and requested him to go on our question to Kharive. He responded “Vo[e]tsek”.

Final month, the Particular Tribunal issued a preservation order that froze a smallholding in Centurion purchased with funds from the MMM bogus biking venture.

The couple are amongst 16 individuals and entities named within the order. The property frozen by the Tribunal was registered to Black Tshisimba, one in all Tshisimba’s corporations. The smallholding in Centurion is the seventh property bought utilizing lottery funds linked to the couple, which the courts have frozen.

Cost thriller

It’s unclear why ASA, which oversees athletics in South Africa, can be paid funds earmarked for a biking growth venture.

Responding to questions, President of Biking SA Qondisa Ngwenya stated his organisation was not conscious of any lottery-funded venture for biking growth in rural areas in 2018.

“Given the reported quantity concerned, a growth initiative of this scale would have actually drawn the eye of the federation and been communicated throughout our buildings”, he stated. “Biking growth falls exterior of ASA’s space of duty and experience.”

Funding on the dimensions granted to MMM “would have made a big affect on the event of biking, notably in underserved communities”, he stated.

“As highlighted by the Limpopo Biking management, this might have enabled the institution of community-based biking hubs geared up with coaching and racing bikes, coaching programmes for mechanics and entry-level coaches, and expertise identification initiatives targeted on youth from beforehand deprived backgrounds.”