National Lotteries commissioner ‘forced to quit’
THE ex-commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), Thabang Mampane broke her silence and claimed that political interference and efforts to capture the commission were the reasons she decided to leave the multi-billion rand institution.
Spilling the beans yesterday during an interview, Mampane revealed that leaving the institution she had served for more than 10 years was not an easy decision.
She claimed that the commission had fallen into the hands of those controlled by politicians, that were prepared to get rid of all the black executives and capture the institution in order to divert and misuse funds.
Mampane, who had previously served in senior positions in various institutions, resigned on Monday, a few weeks before the expiry date of her long reign at the commission.
“I have spoken about the difficulty of working under the current circumstances… there’s a lot going on there and the issue of allegations of corruption and misuse of funds against me is a PR strategy to rubbish us and capture the NLC. There is over R50 million that was given to an organisation and they can not even account for it. When we ask we become victimised,” said Mampane.
Asked about media reports that she and her family had used lottery funding meant to rebuild a burnt Limpopo school to pay for her luxury home at Pecanwood Estate near Hartbeespoort Dam in North West, Mampane said the school was built and “every cent was accounted for; all these things being said are just part of the agenda to demonise and paint us as criminals so that we may not talk about their political capture of that institution”.
“Every black person is being harassed if they don’t toe the political line and do what they want us to do. That institution has gone to those who have no interests in empowering communities but themselves,” she stated.
According to a letter to the commission containing details of her resignation, Mampane wrote to the board informing the members that she was summoned in July to appear before the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) as a witness to respond to grant funding processes relating to funding for Vhafamadi School.
“I hereby inform the board that I have responded to all inquiries by the SIU and upon submission of relevant information, SIU responded that they were satisfied with responses provided and that engagements have been concluded satisfactorily,” she wrote.
“The challenges have not only been politically motivated but rooted in a pervasive relationship and co-ordination between critical organs of state, Chapter 9 institutions, and certain media groupings to destabilise the effective functioning of the commission to undermine my leadership and statutory functions as enshrined in the Lotteries Act 57 of 1997, as amended.”
Contacted for comment, board member Beryl Ferguson said she could not speak on the matter as it was an ongoing investigation by the SIU.
Chairperson of the commission Barney Pityana did not reply to questions from the Daily News, and SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago had not done so by the time for publication.
Chief financial officer Xolile Ntuli resigned from the NLC at the beginning of July and could not provide reasons for her sudden resignation but said her employer’s policy did not allow her to dwell on why she had decided to leave.