Raymond Joseph

We did, but I knew it as a nagapie

Luxury home of Lottery “kingpin” frozen by Special Tribunal Non-profit organisation headed by Alfred Sigudhla received nearly R70-million from the Lottery

The noose tightens: This luxury home is owned by a man whose NPO has received almost R70-m in lottery funding. It was paid for from grants intended for an old age home in the Free State and an agricultural project in KZN. > bit.ly/3HqPHDC via @groundup.org.za

"Why we need a right to be informed'": an 11-part series by @groundup.org.za >> See bit.ly/3ZbMb65

NLC did nothing to stop 4,000 “delinquents” from getting grant funding New corruption-busting efforts have caused grant money to go unspent

The National Lotteries Commission told Parliament on Tuesday that its efforts to curb corruption have caused underspending.

Read groundup.org.za/article/nlc-... by Joseph Bracken and Raymond Joseph

Court rules against Lottery: ticket sales may stop on Sunday “I do not accept that the sky will fall,” says Judge

The Lottery may have to stop selling tickets after the licence of Ithuba Holdings expires on Saturday, 31 May

Read groundup.org.za/article/cour... by Tania Broughton

SIU cracks down on lottery corruption, but NPA missing in action Findings were presented to SCOPA this week

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) presented findings on corruption at the National Lotteries Commission to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday.

Read groundup.org.za/article/siu-... by Raymond Joseph

Ithuba poised to run Lottery for next 12 months — despite legal concerns And Goldrush-backed consortium picked for eight-year licence starting in 2026

A company closely linked to the current lottery operator is busy negotiating a temporary licence to run the lottery for the next twelve months.

Read groundup.org.za/article/ithu... by Raymond Joseph

Lottery ticket sales likely to be suspended from 1 June Minister Tau backtracks on temporary licence, will announce permanent operator at end of May

It is likely that the sale of lottery tickets will be suspended from midnight on 31 May, when Ithuba’s licence expires

Read groundup.org.za/article/lott... by Raymond Joseph

R25-million and six years later, Soweto centre still needs millions to be completed SIU investigates unfinished arts centre backed by music legends Caiphus Semenya and Letta Mbulu

After receiving R10-mil from government in 2018 and R15-mil from the Lottery in 2021, the National Academy of Africa’s Performing Arts in Soweto remains unfinished. Instead, R28-mil more is wanted to complete the facility

Read groundup.org.za/article/r25-... by Raymond Joseph and Kimberly Mutandiro

Lottery licence bidder accuses Minister of favouring Ithuba HCI subsidiary Wina Njalo brought an urgent court application after Minister Parks Tau postponed deadline for new operator

Minister for Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, has been accused of “frustrating” the award of the fourth national lottery licence in order to advance the interests of the present licence holder, Ithuba

Read groundup.org.za/article/lott... by Tania Broughton

Lottery licence bidder accuses Minister of favouring Ithuba HCI subsidiary Wina Njalo brought an urgent court application after Minister Parks Tau postponed deadline for new operator

HCI subsidiary Wina Njalo takes minister to court over Lottery licence

Read groundup.org.za/article/lott... by Tania Broughton

Two more Lottery officials dismissed after appeals fail Former acting chief operating officer and a Durban-based client liaison officer were summarily dismissed last year

The noose tightens: Two more lottery staff members, one of them a former acting COO, fired. via @GroundUp_News >>
bit.ly/41XpFOJ

Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool’s speech that made him ‘no longer welcome’ in the US

The speech that led to Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa's ambassador to Washington, being told he's "no longer welcome" in the US. bit.ly/4buNmm4 >> via @groundup.org.za

“Those nasty Canadians are ripping us off and are controlled by Mexican cartels. They’re poisoning us with fentanyl and need to become the 51st state or they will pay a high price” is a belief that literally ZERO Americans had six weeks ago. It’s entirely invented from scratch.

Minister issues tender for 12-month temporary lottery licence Critics say this favours Ithuba, the current operator

A closed request for proposals for a temporary licence to run the lottery has been issued, but critics are concerned that only the present operator, Ithuba, has the infrastructure to meet the deadline and have the lottery up and running.

Read groundup.org.za/article/mini... by Raymond Joseph

Decision on new Lottery operator postponed by a year. But Ithuba’s licence expires in May No clarity on what happens to lotto ticket sales and NLC grants after expiry

The sale of lottery tickets in South Africa could be suspended after trade, industry and competition Minister Parks Tau announced a 12-month delay in naming a new lottery operator >> via @GroundUp_News >> bit.ly/4bvrHKF

Trump has stopped aid to South Africa, endangering thousands of lives But we must not allow peddlers of hate to undermine our fragile constitutional democracy

This was inevitable after SA made it clear that we wouldn't be bullied. It's now incumbent on our government to urgently find the funds to continue the affected programmes. We should not need others to help keep our vulnerable communities alive and healthy. via @groundup.org.za >>bit.ly/40T6pl9

Lottery paid R500,000 to company to probe computer breach that never happened Forensic auditors found several red flags in the payment to Neo Solutions

The National Lotteries Commission paid a company with a checkered history almost R500k to probe a computer security breach that never happened. It's yet another e.g. of how, under its previous board and executive, the NLC squandered public money meant for good causes. >> via @groundup.org.za

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks But things didn’t go the way they wanted

How reporting leaks that helped expose corruption to South Africa's spooks backfired on the #NationalLotteriesCommission via @groundup.org.za >> bit.ly/4hkCLfx

Journalist: posts in-depth articles that took weeks to report.

Twitter these days: here's one automatic like from a porn bot.

Beware of the DOGE

From the new Private Eye, out now.

Greetings. After 15 years on Twitter, I'm finally dipping my toes into the Bluesky pond.