How a Soweto dumping ground was used in R9m lottery grant scam

A barren piece of land that served as an illegal dumping site was allegedly used in a fraudulent scheme to steal R9m from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).

In 2021, Jeremane Petrus Sedibe, 54, of Protea Glen in Soweto applied for NLC funding, saying he would build a state-of-the-art sports facility on the land.

However, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) found out that not a single brick was laid on the land in Protea Glen Ext 3 while the funds meant for the facilities were shared among ten individuals, including four NLC employees.

An SIU’s Special Tribunal has now ordered that they must pay back the money.

The SIU puts Sedibe at the centre of the alleged looting, as he controlled the funds on behalf of the grant applicant, Motheo Sports and Entertainment Foundation, and distributed them to NLC workers and entities linked to him.

“We were sold dreams. That billboard gave us hope.” — An anonymous resident from Protea Glen Ext 3

Disappointment at the failed project still haunts the people who were supposed to benefit from it.

Loyiso Mqwathi, who lives next to the vacant, rubbish-filled land, remembers the large billboard that was erected there promising a sports complex complete with a swimming pool, basketball courts, sports fields and recreational facilities.

For many, it symbolised hope that children in the area would finally have a safe place to play, develop their sporting talents and stay away from crime.

“We were excited when the billboard went up because it showed us what was coming,” Mqwathi said. “It gave us hope that something good was finally happening for Protea Glen because we don’t have parks or recreational facilities.

“But years passed and nothing happened. Eventually, even the board was blown away by the wind. It was the only thing that had ever been put there. There was no fencing, no construction and no development.”

Another resident, who did not want to be identified, said the community had been robbed of a facility that could have changed the lives of local children.

“We were sold dreams. That billboard gave us hope,” he said.

“People call Protea Glen a suburb, but we don’t have the facilities to match. Other townships have parks and recreational centres, but our children are still forced to play on dusty open grounds.”

Residents also expressed anger that Sedibe still lives among them.

“It is painful because we see him living his life while our children have nothing to show for the money that was meant to uplift this community. You hear people talking about him driving expensive vehicles, and it makes people angry,” the resident said.

Tribunal judge Andre Petersen said the NLC’s grant funding projects manager, Marubini Ramatsekisa, had prepared a proactive funding proposal for the foundation and that Nkhesho Njoni, then acting NLC COO, approved the proposal on the same day it was submitted.

Ramatsekisa has since been fired by the NLC for being involved in a similar scheme that cost the commission R4m, and his pension was frozen.

Petersen said: “Motheo is a non-profit foundation whose affairs were effectively controlled by ... Mr Sedibe, and ... Ms Nontlantla Matshazi, both authorised signatories on Motheo’s banking account.

“The SIU investigation established that the proactive funding process had not complied with the statutory framework governing such allocations and that the monies paid under the grant agreement had not been utilised for the public purpose for which they were allocated.”

Petersen added that nobody from the NLC had checked the foundation’s capacity, financial standing or experience and that the grant was approved in material noncompliance with the Lotteries Act and that public funds were diverted from the purpose for which they had been allocated.

Tebogo Sethathu of the United Civil Society in Action, who has been assisting Sedibe throughout the matter, said Sedibe’s legal team would study the tribunal’s judgment before deciding on their next course of action.

Sowetan