Special Tribunal Sets Aside R9 Million NLC Grant and Orders R6 Million Recovery

Posted 29 July 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Brought to you by SAnews: The Special Tribunal has set aside a R9 million National Lotteries Commission (NLC) grant agreement and ordered the joint and several repayment of R6 million in disbursed funds.

In terms of the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, No. 74 of 1996, read with the Lotteries Act, No. 57 of 1997, the Special Tribunal declared the grant agreement concluded between the NLC and non-profit organisation (NPO) Motheo Sports and Entertainment Foundation unlawful and invalid. The grant was approved under the NLC proactive funding process for the construction of a sports complex in Protea Glen, Soweto, which was never built.

The Tribunal set aside the agreement and ordered the respondents to jointly and severally repay R6 million, representing the first two tranches disbursed by the NLC. A third tranche was withheld after investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) exposed illicit fund diversion and falsified progress reports.

Key Findings and Affected Parties

The SIU investigation established that Motheo’s initial grant application for more than R61.6 million was rejected, with the NLC approving only R70 000, which the NPO declined. Five months later, former NLC Grant Funding Projects Manager Marubini Ramatsekisa recommended R9 million in proactive funding, which was approved by former Acting Chief Operations Officer Nkhesho Njoni.

On 24 May 2021, Tebogo Joseph Mohlala (Director of Motheo) and Nonhlanhla Matshazi (co-director of Londilox NPC) executed the grant agreement. Following the initial R3 million transfer, funds were diverted through the following channels:

  • R950 000 transferred to PSKO (Pty) Ltd, controlled by Jeremane Petrus Sedibe;
  • R500 000 transferred to Londilox NPC;
  • R400 000 transferred to Synercon (Pty) Ltd; and
  • R1 150 000 total in teller cash withdrawals (R750 000), ATM withdrawals (R282 850), and bank charges or associated transfers (R117 150).

The SIU further established that progress reports submitted between 9 June 2021 and 30 November 2021 by Ziphozinhle Khoza of SRSQS Quantity Surveyors and approved by Marito Mabunda contained false representations of construction activity. Consequently, the Tribunal issued a joint and several repayment order against Motheo, Ramatsekisa, Njoni, Mohlala, Sedibe, Moadi, Dlamini, Matshazi, PSKO (Pty) Ltd, and 2MC.

In addition, the Tribunal upheld a preservation order over the pension benefits of former NLC employee Sanele Dlamini — who approved the second tranche payment — pending full recovery of the misused public funds.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Office bearers, corporate directors, and professional consultants face personal statutory liability, asset forfeiture, and pension preservation orders if implicated in fraudulent state grant allocations.
  • For your business: Professional services entities — including quantity surveyors, project managers, and auditors — risk civil recovery orders and criminal prosecution for certifying false compliance or progress reports.
  • For your clients: NPO and corporate clients receiving public grant funds must maintain strict segregated accounting, independent oversight, and verifiable audit trails to ensure compliance with the Lotteries Act, No. 57 of 1997 and avoid clawback proceedings.

Originally published at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/siu-claws-back-r6-million-misused-nlc-grant-funding

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