As scores of beneficiaries wait indefinitely for their grants from the National Lotteries Board (NLB) and increasing numbers of people institute legal proceedings against it, the board’s chief executive Vevek Ram is being hauled before the CCMA by his own staff.
Ram, who has been chief executive since 1999, is accused of treating staff and board members autocratically and of routinely failing to meet delivery deadlines for the handover of more than R2-billion in annual grants to sports, arts and charities.
In a letter sent to the NLB’s human resources manager, Thulani Sikolela, last week, the National Union of Public Servants and Allied Workers, which represents several of the board’s employees, drafted a lengthy list of concerns they wish to see addressed.
Among the complaints against Ram are:
Failure to institute performance appraisals, skills development and HIV/Aids policies;
Purchasing flatscreen TVs and digital satellite decoders instead of upgrading the old computers and printers;
Introducing unreasonable access restrictions, which result in staff being unable to access fax machines and pick up relevant files;
Delaying or reneging on payment to beneficiaries without communicating the reasons; and
Failing to institute affirmative action.
Ram is also accused of plotting the constructive dismissal of a staffer. The NLB’s media liaison officer, Sershan Naidoo, said he was aware of the union’s concerns and could give the assurance that they were being addressed.
As the number of organisations willing to risk already diminished funds by taking the NLB to court grows, this is not the first time a judge has had to break open its coffers.
Last year Melodi International Jazz Festival was saved by an urgent Pretoria High Court order when Judge Lettie Molopa found that the NLB had ‘not been entirely honest†with the event organisers, the Jazz Foundation.
Judge Molopa found that there had been a valid agreement between the two parties, which the board had no grounds to cancel. The board was forced to pay R3,75-million to the foundation plus legal costs.
This was the second time Oupa Salemane, chief executive of the Jazz Foundation, had gone to court to extract funds from the board.
The National School of the Arts is also considering legal action after it was promised more than R5-million for bursaries for about 120 pupils in April 2006.
‘We signed the agreement and waited for payment,†said Debbie Kritharis, the arts school’s manager of corporate affairs. ‘About a year later we got a response from Ram saying it was extremely unlikely that we would get the money.â€
Naidoo said the NLB only funded educational projects, not running costs, ‘otherwise [they would] have all the schools coming to [them] and asking for bursariesâ€.
Several other organisations, including the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and the Nhlapo Sibanda Heritage Art and Culture Organisation, are also taking legal action. Scores of beneficiaries have complained of a breakdown in communication with the board.
The complaints were echoed by several non-profit organisations this week. ‘The lines of communication are basically closed at the Lotto. They never return calls and they always go to voicemail,†said Ingrid Leo, a fundraiser with the Association for the Physically Disabled in Port Elizabeth.
Leo last applied for funding in 2006 and was not notified that the application had been received. The application she filed in 2005 — for R800Â 000 — was finally processed in 2007, but less than half the requested amount was given.
Naidoo blamed the beneficiaries and their slowness in applying for funds. ‘We give applicants three months to get their forms in, but most arrive at the last minute, which leads to mistakes,†he said.
He added that many NGOs are slow to process the reports they need in order to access the rest of their funding, leading to further delays.