Cape Town - The National Lotteries Board said it did not pay the Cape Minstrel Carnival Association R41m for its carnival this year, clarifying media reports claiming this amount.
The board's CEO, Charlotte Mampane, said in a statement on Sunday that it would like "correct an erroneous article, which surfaced in the Sunday Times, and despite our efforts to put the record straight, the article continues to be recycled in its original form".
According to the article, the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund, the mechanism through which a percentage of lottery ticket sales proceeds are channeled towards worthy causes to uplift communities, R41m was paid to the Cape Minstrel Carnival Association.
"This assertion is completely false," said Mampane.
It said that the Cape Minstrel Carnival Association received allocations amounting to R40.64m, which were paid out as follows:
- R13.32m was paid in 2012 and 2013 - for carnival costs
- R27.32m was paid in 2014 - carnival costs (R14.32 million) and the Carnival Heritage Museum (R13 million)
"Therefore, the grant payments specifically for the carnival amounted to R27.64m in three years (2012-2014) and not R41m as reported in the said publication."
"In 2014, the Cape Minstrel Carnival Association received R 13.75m in relation to an application the Cape Minstrel Carnival Association made on behalf of two smaller organisations as per the NLB's ‘partnership model whereby larger, established organisations assist and mentor smaller organisations that do not meet all the requirements to apply on their own.
"The two assisted organisations, Haqun, and Seven Saints were allocated R 5m and R 7m respectively from the allocation of R13.75m, with the balance of R1.2m paid to the assisting organisation (Cape Carnival Minstrels Association) for administration as per the partnership model. In terms of the latter, funds are paid over to the assisting organisation, which would then, in terms of this arrangement; transfer the money to the assisted organisations in line with approved allocations.
"It is a condition of the grant that beneficiaries of NLDTF report on the usage of funds and are required to provide the National Lotteries Board (NLB) with documentation to support the information provided. The NLB scrutinises the reports before making any further payment or grant.
"Any unauthorised deviation amounts to breach of agreement and action, as described in the grant agreement, will be taken. A breach will also impact on any future funding."