SCOPA LAUNCH INQUIRY INTO RAF FINANCIAL MATTERS @KASIBC_AFRICA

SCOPA LAUNCH INQUIRY INTO RAF FINANCIAL MATTERS @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA 

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has today resolved to launch a full committee inquiry into allegations of maladministration, financial mismanagement, wasteful and reckless expenditure, and related financial misconduct at the Road Accident Fund (RAF).

 

This decision follows months of repeated attempts by the committee to obtain truthful, complete information from the RAF Board and executive management, to little avail. The committee cannot perform its work effectively if state entities do not provide it with complete and truthful information, with adequate context and supporting information.

 

Some of the issues of concern for the committee include but are not limited to:

•Failure to perform adequate background checks on senior management and executive appointments who nonetheless have access to and manage significant sums of public funds despite having a deeply concerning employment and disciplinary history involving allegations of reckless financial management decisions.

•Subsequent refusal by the RAF to disclose to the committee where such funds are kept and for what purpose.

•Failure to appoint critical officials such as a Chief Claims Officer, Head of Claims Operations, Head of Legal, Chief Corporate Support Officer, Head of People Management etc, for an unacceptably long time while decisions with a significant financial impact on the RAF are being taken, alternatively not being taken when they should.

•Apparent failures of governance with a direct impact on the rule of law, the authority and powers of Parliament as well as Chapter 9 institutions tasked with performing oversight on behalf of the South African people.

•Numerous whistleblower accounts relating to supply chain irregularities involving more than R1 billion while internal management controls appear to not be applied.

These allegations point to failure by the Board to properly oversee management’s decisions and actions in line with their statutory mandate. The committee will approve terms of reference on 1 July 2025, and the inquiry will take place after the August recess.

 

Chairperson of SCOPA, Mr Songezo Zibi said, “The volume of complaints and related documentary disclosures to the committee about the RAF make it necessary to examine them thoroughly, and make such recommendations as may be necessary to ensure that the institution does its work within legal and constitutional prescripts, and serves the public interest as intended. 

An inquiry will also give everyone involved or implicated the opportunity to state their case under oath, and receive a fair hearing before the committee draws its conclusions.”

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™

NATIONAL LOTTO TENDER WORTH BILLIONS @KASIBC_AFRICA

 MAKEKASIGREAT©®™

NATIONAL LOTTO TENDER WORTH BILLIONS @KASIBC_AFRICA

 ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

 
COMMITTEE NOTES THE NATIONAL LOTTERY LICENCE AWARD PROCESS AND EXPLANATION ON THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST QUESTIONS  

 

Parliament, Tuesday, 24 June 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition has noted the explanation provided after concerns raised on the process surrounding the awarding of the fourth National Lottery Licence. 

 

The committee today engaged the Executive led by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Parks Tau, and the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) on the process of appointing a new National Lottery operator and the steps taken to ensure continued lottery operations.

 

This comes after the successful appointment of the fourth new National Lottery licensee, on 28 May 2025. The committee, as part of its oversight mandate, has been monitoring the process to ensure openness, transparency and fairness, as well as to ensure accountability in this regard. Recognising the importance of the National Lottery to South Africa’s socio-economic development, it was important that full disclosure be made before Parliament and the questions that the committee had put before the Executive.  

 

The Minister and NLC confirmed that all applicants were assessed against strict legal and technical criteria under the Lotteries Act, including in terms of capacity, financial strength, and social responsibility commitments. 

 

The engagement also addressed other issues that had been raised by the committee including allegations of conflict of interest. 

The committee was informed that:

• An internal investigation found no conflict of interest involving members of the Evaluation Committee.

• In terms of section 13(2)(b)(iv) of the Lotteries Act, the Minister must satisfy himself that no political party in the Republic or political office-bearer has any direct financial interest in the applicant or a shareholder of the applicant. In this regard, the Minister indicated that legal advice was sought, and he was satisfied with the outcomes.

 

The NLC informed the committee that the appointment of the fourth National Lottery licence followed a competitive bidding process.

 

To prevent disruption of National Lottery operations after the expiry of the third National Lottery licence on 31 May 2025, the Minister also issued a temporary licence under section 13B of the Act. Although all eight applicants for the fourth National Lottery licence were eligible to apply, only the incumbent submitted a bid and they met all requirements for the temporal licence. 

 

The Chairperson, Mr Mzwandile Masina, said “Sections 13B and 14 of the Lotteries Act provides the Minister the necessary legislative authority to issue a temporary licence and to appoint the fourth National Lottery operator licence. Based on these provisions, the committee is not questioning the grounds on which the Minister made these decisions but is rather exercising its oversight role to ensure that the process is transparent and fair”.

 

The committee wishes not to be drawn into ongoing media speculations and directs all technical and awards related enquiries to the Ministry and the NLC. 

We remain committed to holding the Executive to account without necessarily attempting to engage in co-decision making. 

The committee will continuously monitor the operationalisation of the new licence operator, as well as any matters that may arise in this regard.

 MAKEKASIGREAT©®™

WORLD BANK US$1.5BILLION LOAN @KASIBC_AFRICA

 MAKEKASIGREAT©®™

WORLD BANK US$1.5BILLION LOAN @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes, with serious concern, the announcement by the National Treasury that South Africa has signed a loan agreement to the amount of US$1.5 billion with the World Bank for so-called infrastructure modernisation and development. 

The EFF reiterates its long-held position that institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are instruments of neoliberalism and neocolonialism, used by Western imperialist powers to perpetuate the underdevelopment of the global South, and Africa in particular. 

These institutions mask their agenda through development rhetoric, while attaching loan conditions that undermine sovereignty, impose austerity, and erode the developmental state. The National Treasury, acting as a conduit for this imperial agenda, often conceals these conditions or frames them as mere administrative reforms, when in reality they fundamentally shape economic policy and fiscal direction without democratic consent. 

We maintain that South Africa’s debt-service costs have now ballooned to over R426 billion per year—more than what is spent on social development, health, or basic education. Yet, we have nothing to show for this debt in terms of real, transformative development for our people. 

Over the past 15 years, the National Treasury has borrowed billions in the name of economic reform and stability but failed to ensure that such debt translates into jobs, industrial growth, or public infrastructure that benefits 

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™

BREAD PRICES HIKE @KASIBC_AFRICA ONLINE EDITOR

BREAD PRICES HIKE @KASIBC_AFRICA ONLINE EDITOR

The DA is proud to recognise a victory by Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, which will stop the price of bread from going up.

Minister Steenhuisen has identified and terminated an inherited arrangement where a supplier had been authorized to conduct quality inspections of breads and grains at retailers across the country.

The DA notes that national retailers have confirmed that Minister Steenhuisen’s actions will stop a price hike on bread loaves.

The contract that the DA Leader has terminated would have allowed a service provider to charge retailers for an unnecessary testing service. And retailers would have had to pass this extra charge on to South Africans buying their bread.

In the Government of National Unity DA Ministers are implementing policy and regulations that can drive down the cost of living, and can also stop rising prices.

The DA is engaged in fighting against the rising cost of living, in every way that we can, to lower prices for all people in South Africa.

The latest example of DA Delivery-on-Promise is that Agriculture Minister, John Steenhuisen, has stopped a hike in bread prices, which the DA celebrates.

The DA has fought against rising food costs, and critically against a proposed VAT-increase on all goods and services. The DA won the fight against the VAT-increase on behalf of all South Africans.

A DA Minister, stopping a price hike on bread, is an example of the DA fighting the rising cost of living.

@KASIBC_AFRICA MAKEKASIGREAT©®™