The Non-Profit organisation that that works to strengthen financial sustainability of organizations in the sector, has briefed the Legal Resource Centre to investigate the board’s role.

An as yet unreleased report commissioned by the NPP has questioned the legal status of the relationship between the board and its distribution agencies. Can the same body [the lotteries board] function as the regulator and at the same time, play a role in operations [distributing money]? the report asks.

Widespread complaints about the lack of transparency of the lotteries board have focused on its role in the money distribution process.
Decisions as to which organization will receive money, and which do not qualify, are seldom, if ever explained. Despite a promise by the board to rectify this in the current round of funding applications, organizations are still told that their applications has been turned down “ because it did not meet the criteria” without giving details.
In the 2001/02 funding cycle, barely half of the money available for distribution – R439 million- was disbursed. The report describes this as a “national disgrace”
The distribution agencies currently lack the capacity and staff to make detailed inquiries into many of the applications received. At present the agencies have only five field officers, and are hoping to expand this to nine – still hopelessly inadequate for executing a job of enormous magnitude, the report argues.
Eugene Saldhana, the director of the NPP, said he was not able to comment until the report has been officially released. He confirmed that the NPP was in possession of the report and that it will be made public once it had been reviewed by an NPP reference group.
For Further details contact [email protected]
Source: Sunday Independent – Date 11/08/2002