Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - The National Lotteries Board (NLB) has paid
out over R2bn to beneficiaries in the 2011/2012 financial year, chairperson
Alfred Nevhutanda said on Tuesday.
Nevhutanda said that while the NLB was proud of this
achievement, further measures were being put in place to speed up the
processing of progress reports.
One of the reasons for the slow process was that staff had
to process reports and prepare packs for meetings where funding applications
were adjudicated, the NLB said in a statement.
Its charities sector had limited its allocations to
single-year funding.
The number of reports processed for this sector was
therefore "relatively low".
The arts, culture and national heritage, and sport and
recreation sectors, had made multiple-year funding available to beneficiaries.
This had resulted in the two sectors accumulating 649
reports. Of these, 125 had been paid.
The NLB had also appointed an independent service provider
to help clear the backlog within a month. The temporary contract was being
finalised.
Nevhutanda confirmed that the board had approved the interventions.
The NLB said it had also introduced an online tracking
system - accessible through its website - to help applicants and beneficiaries.
Applicants and beneficiaries would be able to register for this service by the middle of April.
