NLDTF BENEFICIARIES AND NLB ANNUAL REPORT

A recent statement by the Democratic Alliance as referred to in a report on SAPA and subsequent radio and print media reports is evidence of selective understanding of the facts by the DA and some of the media in South Africa.

The DA and media reports claim that the National Lotteries Board ‘was declaring unpaid funds as having been paid out'. The Board would like to assure the public that this statement is unfounded.

If the Democratic Alliance and the learned journalists who reported made the effort to read the Annual Report of the NLB that they refer to, they would have learnt that the Board on Page 13 of said report (available under the Annual Report link on http://www.nlb.org.za/) identifies statistics in terms of allocations made by the NLDTF to good causes. All Members of Parliament receive their own copy of the Annual Report each year.

Readers of the 2007 Annual Report are referred to pages 59 to 64 of the report for a ‘detailed list of allocations'. Allocations are made by the Distributing Agencies based on the applications received with each call for applications. Before confirmation and payment of grants, there are conditions to be met.

The Annual Report (Page 13) states:

"Included in the detailed list are conditional allocations made in the 2006/2007 financial year that we are obliged to accrue for. In the event of conditions not being met, this will be rectified in the next financial year and identified in the financial statements."

From the above, the Board is concerned as to why the DA, the media and beneficiaries would believe that the Board is misrepresenting the facts.

Those organisations who have not met the conditions attached to their grant allocation would have had their grants withdrawn. When setting conditions to be met before confirmation of grants, the Distributing Agencies set deadlines for submission of information. Failure to meet these deadlines results in allocations being withdrawn.

The Board appreciates responsible criticism that is devoid of sensationalism and attempts at electioneering. The DA and the media should have requested comment from the National Lotteries Board before making statements and comments that cannot be substantiated.

In the performance audit referred to by the DA, the issues raised by the Office of the Auditor-General deal primarily with grantmaking by the Distributing Agencies. The Board has previously stated that it has no control or influence over the Distributing Agencies including the number of meetings scheduled as well as the number and method of adjudications conducted at the meetings.

Statement issued by National Lotteries Board August 11 2008