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13 November 2020 Year 31 Vol: 11
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I lost my passion
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11
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Hawks spokesperson says Lottery grant did not lead to his resignation he had lost his passion for his job. He is also concerned about his own safety and that of his Former Hawks spokesperson family, he said. Hangwani Mulaudzi, who “I have a family and when resigned suddenly after it you work, you must put in all was revealed that his NPO your passion. But that passion received Lottery funding for is gone. I’ve been taking blows a sports facility in is home left right and centre on a village, has denied that this daily basis. I have been called had anything to do with his names,” he told the radio decision to quit his job. station. “If there are investigaLimpopo Mirror has contions, they must come,” he said. firmed that the grant and how The Democratic Alliance it was spent is now under inves- (DA) had complained to Police tigation by a Hawks task team Minister Bheki Cele and Trade set up recently to investigate Minister Ebrahim Patel after corruption involving Lottery news broke of the grant. The grants. DA’s Mat Cuthbert argued that Besides the R3 million grant the Hawks are currently invesfor the sports facility in his tigating the NLC and such a home village of Mukondeni, grant could have been aimed at Limpopo Mirror has coninfluencing the investigations. firmed that the Foundation “I don’t investigate, I only also received R100 000 for communicate,” Mulaudzi told food parcels from a National Phalaphala FM. Lotteries Commission (NLC) Meanwhile, a Presidential Covid-19 fund. Proclamation authorising the Attempts this week by Special Investigating Unit Limpopo Mirror, which was (SIU) to investigate the NLC the first to report on the conwas published in the Govtroversial grant to Mulaudzi’s ernment Gazette on Friday, 6 NPO – the Mulaudzi Hangwani November. The proclamation Foundation - were unsuccesswas signed by President Cyril ful. The name of the foundaRamaphosa on 20 October, but tion was changed to the Bono only came into effect when it Foundation in August, about was published. two months after the Limpopo The proclamation comes afMirror first began probing the ter ongoing reporting over the grant. past three years by Limpopo But Mulaudzi told Phalapha- Mirror and GroundUp about la FM that he resigned because serious irregularities involvBy Anton van Zyl and Kaizer Nengovhela
ing some multi-million-rand Lottery grants. Some of the reporting focused on dodgy grants to hijacked or seemingly dormant organisations and shelf non-profit companies. The proclamation covers offences “which took place between 1 January 2014 and the date of publication of this Proclamation, or which took place prior to 1 January 2014”. It also covers any offences after the date of its publication that are “relevant to, connected with, incidental or ancillary to the matters … or involve the same persons, entities or contracts investigated under authority of this Proclamation”. As an independent statutory unit, the SIU is accountable to Parliament and the President. It has powers to subpoena, search, seize and interrogate witnesses under oath. The unit also is empowered to “take civil action to correct any wrongdoing it uncovers in its investigations”. Where it uncovers criminal conduct, the SIU can cooperate with the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) “to ensure that there is an effective investigation and prosecution”. The SIU also works closely with the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit “where its powers are more appropriate or effective in recovering the proceeds of crime.”
The groundwork on the controversial project at Mukondeni village started in mid 2020. When Limpopo Mirror visited the project in June the area had just been fenced off and the groundwork had started. Since then the netball court had been finished, grass was planted and the ablution facilities were completed.
During Limpopo Mirror’s visit on June 24 this year food parcels were handed out to residents. It later transpired that the food parcels formed part of an NLC Covid-19 relief project, for which a further R100 000 was paid to the Hangwani Mulaudzi Foundation.