No place for corruption, conflict of interest in NLC, emphasizes Nene
Greed and power is at the core of corruption and the National Lotteries Board is taking charge in dealing with the scourge in the organisation. On Thursday, the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) in collaboration with an international-acclaimed intergovernmental economic policy organisation, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), hosted a virtual conference on anti-corruption and integrity.
The conference was held at Twin Rivers Estate in Centurion in Tshwane where guests were treated to the performance of Ndlovu Youth Choir and Omari Live.
The conference explored new integrity risks, challenges and opportunities that have arisen in the Covid-19 context, as well as identify innovative solutions required to govern and conduct business with integrity, including respect for responsible business conduct standards and tackling corruption in times of crisis.
The NLC was invited to participate in the conference against the background of its huge responsibility as a government entity that deals with funding for struggling organisations across the country through its funding model which assists non-government organisations to function and provide critical services to communities.
Radio and television personality Aldrin Sampear, did a sterling job facilitating the conversation where the conference host, advocate Nompumelelo Nene, the Secretariat of the NLC, spoke boldly of how her organisation is dealing with corruption and focusing on good governance.
The conversation was broadcast throughout the world via a streaming channel where Nene told the conference: “As a National Lotteries Commission, we’re a global innovative regulator. As a regulator, our mission is to assist thousands of South Africans and [to become] the largest funder to the civil society.
“When we deal with corruption as the NLC, zero tolerance for us starts from the top, as we have to maintain good corporate governance practices. We set the tone on zero tolerance on fraud and corruption based on our work ethics.
“Our corporate governance is aligned to global organisations such as the OECD.”
Nene also shared how the NLC has developed a method of measuring conflict of interest and fighting corruption in the organisation by holding itself to highest ethical standards.
“We fund rural and urban communities through our funding model, and through our transparent processes we take corruption activities seriously and act accordingly,” she said.
“There is more to measure corruption and it is our aim to deal with such in order for us to have good governance and also to make sure that we deliver on our mandate, which is helping our communities to thrive through our funding model.
“We do not allow corruption to distract us on our quest to achieve our goal,”she emphasised.
Based on how the NLC operates, the organisation said it acts swiftly to ensure that good governance and a culture of trust is instilled within the structure.
“We have looked and monitored on how conflict of interest had dented our organisation, and through negativity, we have come to the point of conducting an independent forensic analysis in order for us to root out corruption.
“We conduct preliminary investigations and be part of the solution in order for us to assist our communities.”