Evidence wa ka Ngobeni
The National Directorate of Public Prosecutions has been asked to lay criminal charges against former members of the Northern Province Gambling Board for corruption and contravening the government’s regulations.
This follows a two-year investigation by the special investigative unit (SIU), the government’s premier investigative organisation, and the Investigative Directorate for Serious Economic Offences into alleged irregularities and corruption at the gambling board.
The SIU was asked to refer its findings against members of the gambling board to National Director of Public Prosecution Bulelani Ngcuka for “criminal steps” to be taken by advocate Jan Henning, special director of court management at Ngcuka’s office.
Henning, who recently conducted an audit of the unit’s workload, has also asked the unit to refer the case to Northern Province Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi for possible recoveries of funds lost due to irregularities by the former gambling board members.
The implicated board members were replaced last year with a new board chaired by Serobe Maja. Most of the board members investigated now hold key government positions. One serves as a senior official in Ramatlhodi’s office, another holds a senior position in the provincial Department of Trade and Industry.
The charges against the former gambling board members centres on their handling of gambling-related tenders between 1998 and 1999. In 1998 the board called for businesses to submit applications for the first casino licence in the Northern Province after 1994.
The awarding of the casino licence came to a standstill for more than two years after disgruntled casino licence bidders laid a case of corruption against the board in the Pretoria High Court. The court ruled in favour of the bidders and ordered that the licence process be scrapped.
The casino bidders claimed the gambling board had misused their non-refundable cash deposits, which all casino applicants were required to pay out. The government was ordered to repay the funds, which totalled more than R3-million.
The casino applicants said the board had allegedly paid thousands of rands to two consultancy companies which were either co-owned or directed by two of the board’s members to investigate and verify information supplied by applicants for the casino licence.
The board was also accused of making irregular appointments and abusing taxpayers’ funds. Other charges include irregular payments to board members, irregular conclusion of agreements and irregular payment of monies relating to applicants for casino licences.
The casino applicants also charged that two government employees, who were representing the state on the board, were also drawing huge sums of money from the board. They were allegedly paid more than R80?000.
The SIU will refer the matter to Ramatlhodi for possible recovery of the taxpayers’ money.
The Northern Province Gambling Board was not available for comment this week. However, gambling board officials, who refused to be named, said the casino licence process was conducted again by Maja’s board last year. A casino licence was awarded to Sun International earlier this year and is expected to create more than 3?000 direct and indirect jobs.