{"id":247144,"date":"2023-01-12T14:02:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T12:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/article\/mystery-why-did-a-youth-movement-get-lottery-funding-to-build-an-old-age-home-that-doesnt-appear-to-be-needed\/"},"modified":"2023-01-12T14:02:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T12:02:06","slug":"mystery-why-did-a-youth-movement-get-lottery-funding-to-build-an-old-age-home-that-doesnt-appear-to-be-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/mystery-why-did-a-youth-movement-get-lottery-funding-to-build-an-old-age-home-that-doesnt-appear-to-be-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery: Why did a youth movement get lottery funding to build an old age home that doesn\u2019t appear to be needed?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article_body\">\n<p><a class=\"bigger-image\" href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/media\/uploads\/images\/Third%20Party\/sigudhla_2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mystery-why-did-a-youth-movement-get-lottery-funding-to-build-an-old-age-home-that-doesnt-appear-to-be-needed.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"caption\">SAYM executive director Alfred Sigudhla in front of the old age home, then under construction, in a screenshot from a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7qQHBuSQhZg\">November 2020 video<\/a> posted on the NLC\u2019s YouTube page. (Fair use)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2017, the South African Youth Movement (SAYM) received its first tranche of money, R20-million, from the NLC to build an old age home in the rural Free State.<\/li>\n<li>Construction began in Botshabelo but had to be shut down and moved to a new site in Thaba Nchu after community protests.<\/li>\n<li>The Department of Social Development, which assesses and registers old age homes, was not consulted about the home until 2022 and recommended it be repurposed into a halfway house.<\/li>\n<li>By 2022, SAYM had received R27.5-million for the home from the NLC. It is not yet operational.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A Lottery-funded old age home in the Free State is yet to open its doors, despite receiving over R27.5-million in grants over the past five years.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt class=\"leave\" height=\"1\" id=\"gu_counter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mystery-why-did-a-youth-movement-get-lottery-funding-to-build-an-old-age-home-that-doesnt-appear-to-be-needed.gif\" width=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p>The Free State Department of Social Development (FSDSD), says it was not consulted beforehand about the plan to build the home by the <a href=\"https:\/\/saym.co.za\/\">Southern African Youth Movement (SAYM)<\/a>, which received the multimillion-rand funding, including the initial location of the home in Botshabelo, or when it was moved to Thaba Nchu after protests in which the partially-built facility was vandalised.<\/p>\n<p>When the department \u201cwas eventually consulted\u201d in 2022, it had \u201cadvised that the old age home be repurposed to a substance abuse halfway house\u201d, according to Lindiwe Mnguni, the FSDSD\u2019s acting head of communications and marketing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe department has an old age home in Botshabelo, named Botshabelo Haven. The department was not part of plans to establish a similar facility in the area,\u201d she said. \u201cThe department [also] has an old age home in Thaba Nchu and was not aware of other initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The funding for the old age home was part of several grants totalling over R67.5-million doled out to SAYM-related entities by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) since 2016. The grants are all recorded in NLC annual reports under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/media\/uploads\/documents\/saym_19_december_2012\/list_of_grants.jpg\">several slightly different variations<\/a> of the organisation\u2019s name.<\/p>\n<p>SAYM also received almost R27-million from the NLC to build a drug rehabilitation centre in Mbombela in Mpumalanga, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/article\/r27-million-from-lottery-but-six-years-later-rehab-still-not-open\/\">is still not completed or operational<\/a>, and R15-million to produce and stage a drug awareness musical, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/article\/questions-surround-lottery-fund-musical-directed-by-tsotsi-star\/\">only ran for a handful of performances<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Construction of the old age home initially began on a site in Botshabelo, about 66km from Bloemfontein. But when angry community members \u201cvandalised and ransacked\u201d the partially-built home, it was relocated to a new site in nearby Thaba Nchu, according to SAYM.<\/p>\n<p>Explaining the normal procedure that should have been followed, Mnguni said: \u201cLike any other facility to be constructed, proper infrastructure procedures must be followed like land identification, zoning of the land, etc. At all times the norms and standards guiding construction of the old age home must also be complied with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FSDSD finally did a site inspection at the home on 25 May 2022, according to Mnguni. This was almost five years after the first R20-million grant was paid to SAYM in May 2017 for the old age home.<\/p>\n<p>But, responding to questions from GroundUp, SAYM\u2019s board chair, Dr Lekgotla Mafisa claimed his organisation had \u201cconsulted broadly with various stakeholders, including DSD, before the facility\u2019s construction commenced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a result, the Tribal Authority, in consultation with the local municipality, issued a letter allocating the land,\u201d Mafisa said. He did not mention in his responses to GroundUp that the FSDSD had advised that the home be turned into a substance abuse halfway house, as there was already an DSD old age home in Thaba Nchu.<\/p>\n<p>Mnguni said the FSDSD was now working with SAYM \u201cto provide guidance and support regarding the re-purposing of the old age home\u201d and had issued a \u201cconditional registration\u201d for the halfway house, not the old age home the NLC had originally funded, in October last year \u201cto enable SAYM to fasttrack the plan for re-purposing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mafisa told GroundUp that SAYM had received an \u201cinterim licence\u201d to operate from DSD, which would be given to them at a \u201chandover ceremony\u201d. Mnguni said the department was not aware of any handover ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFull registration could only be issued once the facility met the set norms and standards,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<h2>Millions in funding<\/h2>\n<p>SAYM received an initial grant of R20-million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/media\/uploads\/documents\/saym_old_age\/2017_grant.png\">on 12 October 2017<\/a> to build the old age home, with a further two grants of R3.6-million and R3.9-million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/media\/uploads\/documents\/saym_old_age\/2019_and_2020_grants.jpg.png\">on 21 May 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The SAYM\u2019s old age home and drug rehab centre were both part of an allocation of over R250-million in proactive funding from the NLC for six homes and four rehabs around South Africa in the 2016\/2017 financial year.<\/p>\n<p>Proactive funding, which has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/article\/siu-investigating-dodgy-lottery-grants-of-over-r14-billion\/\">at the heart of the looting of the lottery<\/a>, allows the NLC to identify and fund projects without first requiring an application for funding.<\/p>\n<p>None of the old age homes and drug rehabs are yet operational and most are incomplete. Last year, the NLC allocated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/article\/nlc-allocates-millions-to-complete-abandoned-lottery-funded-projects\/\">almost R65-million<\/a> to finish several multi-million rand infrastructure projects that were left incomplete after millions in Lottery grants went missing. This includes several of the unfinished old age homes and rehabs, but the SAYM projects are not included.<\/p>\n<p>Mafisa says the home has been completed and that interviews for staff were conducted late last year. Mafisa also undertook to supply GroundUp with copies of the adverts placed for staff for the home, but never did.<\/p>\n<p>On who would staff and run the new halfway house facility, Mnguni said: \u201cThe facility belongs to SAYM. The department will plan a supporting role as per request tabled for its consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u201cVandalised and ransacked\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>While Mafisa claims that community consultation preceded construction at the Botshabelo site, a community uprising forced them to find a new site in Thaba Nchu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe debate was about land allocation for urban development by the tribal authority,\u201d the SAYM\u2019s Mafisa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe community members wanted their chief to also allocate stands alongside the project, which the municipality refused and forcefully removed those illegally erecting shacks. During the community protests, the project was devastatingly vandalised and ransacked. Cases were opened against perpetrators. A decision was taken to relocate the project based on safety concerns,\u201d Mafisa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe project was delayed due to land disputes between communities \u2026 and had to be relocated to another site which needed new plans and all required research work and architectural plans had to be developed,\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/media\/uploads\/documents\/saym_old_age\/update_south_africa_story_re_home.pdf\">May 2020 news report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In June 2021, just over a year later, a local Free State news website, which interviewed SAYM executive director Alfred Sigudhla about the home, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/media\/uploads\/documents\/saym_old_age\/fs_world_old_age_story.pdf\">reported<\/a> that the facility was \u201c90% complete with finishing touches being done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7qQHBuSQhZg&amp;list=UUzICP4CnFZWK3Oa1Sef2MXg&amp;index=3\">video interview<\/a> with Sigudhla, published on the NLC\u2019s YouTube channel a few months earlier in November 2020, shows that the old age home was still very much under construction.<\/p>\n<p>The video was one of several released by the NLC, produced to counter GroundUp\u2019s reporting about corruption involving hundreds of millions of rands in grants for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/article\/nlc-allocates-millions-to-complete-abandoned-lottery-funded-projects\/\">unfinished <\/a>old age homes, drug rehabs and other multimillion-rand Lottery-funded infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWelcome to the SAYM community development centre,\u201d Alfred Sigudhla says in the introduction to the video. \u201cThis centre is \u2026 going to have three projects. One of them is an old age [home] where we are going to be accommodating 72 old people. It has also got a community hall where we are going to be inviting the community and people who want to see the old people, or for social gatherings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite receiving R27.5-million from the NLC, \u201cSAYM has invested millions in completing the project,\u201d Mafisa said.<\/p>\n<p>And in response to follow-up questions, he said that after the project was relocated, \u201cthe original funding didn\u2019t cover other things required by the licence conditions, like waste building, fire and landscaping, including perimeter walls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe final report with all its financial implications has been submitted to NLC, and once finalised, it will be shared with the public accordingly. It is worth mentioning that SAYM has invested millions in completing the project,\u201d Mafisa said.<\/p>\n<p>The NLC, in response to questions about SAYM\u2019s various Lottery-funded projects, said, \u201cWe confirm that the South African Youth Movement has received funding from the NLC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are unfortunately unable to refer to any documentation or verify information regarding the inquiry as all proactive funding files have been seized by the Special Investigating Unit as part of their ongoing investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"article_copyright\">\n<p>\u00a9 2023 GroundUp. This article is licensed under a <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\" rel=\"license\">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and GroundUp, and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.<\/p>\n<p>We put an invisible pixel in the article so that we can count traffic to republishers. All analytics tools are solely on our servers. We do not give our logs to any third party. Logs are deleted after two weeks. We do not use any IP address identifying information except to count regional traffic. We are solely interested in counting hits, <b>not tracking<\/b> users. If you republish, please do not delete the invisible pixel.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mystery-why-did-a-youth-movement-get-lottery-funding-to-build-an-old-age-home-that-doesnt-appear-to-be-needed.jpg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.groundup.org.za\/\">Source: GroundUp<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SAYM executive director Alfred Sigudhla in front of the old age home, then under construction, in a screenshot from a November 2020 video posted on the NLC\u2019s YouTube page. (Fair use) In 2017, the South African Youth Movement (SAYM) received its first tranche of money, R20-million, from the NLC to build an old age home [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":247145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9928,3247],"tags":[28001],"class_list":{"0":"post-247144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-groundup","8":"category-news","9":"tag-groundup","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mystery-why-did-a-youth-movement-get-lottery-funding-to-build-an-old-age-home-that-doesnt-appear-to-be-needed.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}