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Jozi FM Board Chairperson’s Lotto Funding Scandal

Dear Editor

The Democratic Alliance can reveal that the Soweto Media Resources Centre, trading as Jozi FM, received not one but two tranches of Lotto funding totalling over R35 million between 2013 and 2016. But media reports that Board Chairperson Rapiste Montsho misappropriated R24 million of grant money paid out in the 2013-14 funding window omitted the fact that in the 2015-16 funding window, Jozi FM (under his watch) received a second tranche totalling R11,219,440.

NLC Commissioner, Ms Jodi Scholtz, confirmed to the DA that files relating to the grants have been handed over to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) which is investigating up to R2 billion of dodgy grants facilitated by corrupt NLC insiders including board members, staff, accounting and law firms.

Jozi FM, founded in 1995 in Dube, Soweto, has established itself as the voice of Soweto through thick and thin and has survived many financial challenges. The Lotto grant was meant to fund a new media centre adjoining the Soweto Theatre complex in Jabulani but the money appears to have vanished without trace.

The DA can also reveal that since Jozi FM station management went public with its allegations, two board members have resigned, citing loss of confidence in the board chair and distancing themselves from the alleged financial transgressions.

Station management have assured the DA that the station is financially solvent and never depended on the Lotto grant money to sustain its operations.

If proved to be true, the Jozi FM grants scandal is yet another example of how greedy individuals and corrupt syndicates have syphoned off funds for their personal benefit at the expense of needy communities and good cause.

The people of Soweto deserve a radio station servicing its diverse communities untainted by allegations of corruption and embezzlement. The DA calls on the SIU to finalise its investigation without delay and if criminal activities have occurred, to press charges against the offending individuals without delay.

Regards

Toby Chance MP
DA Spokesperson on Trade, Industry & Competition

Source – MyZA

Free Press Release Submissions from MyPR.co.za

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The Cradle of Humankind and Ancient Roots

While the modern city is only about 140 years old, the ground beneath it holds the secrets of humanity’s earliest ancestors. Located just 50 kilometers northwest of the city center is the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This area contains a complex system of limestone caves, including the famous Sterkfontein Caves, where nearly 40% of all the world’s human ancestor fossils have been discovered.

Significant finds like “Mrs. Ples” (Australopithecus africanus) and the near-complete skeleton of “Little Foot” have provided scientists with crucial evidence about how early hominids walked upright and transitioned into the Homo genus. More recently, in 2013, the discovery of Homo naledi in the Rising Star cave system stunned the scientific community, suggesting that ancient human relatives may have practiced ritualized burial much earlier than previously thought. This proximity to the “birthplace of humanity” gives Johannesburg a unique cultural depth; while it is a city of skyscrapers and high finance, it is also a place where you can stand on the very ground where our species took its first steps.