NLC visits Gugulethu St Benedict Home to review R2.3m grant utilisation
The exercise is intended to reinforce transparency and ensure that funded projects deliver measurable outcomes.
South Africa.- The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) has conducted a site visit to the Gugulethu St Benedict Home for the Aged in Mpumalanga to evaluate the impact of its grant funding, as part of broader efforts to strengthen accountability in South Africa’s gambling-funded social investment system.
In a press release, the NLC stated that the exercise carried out on March 24 is intended to reinforce transparency and ensure that funded projects deliver measurable outcomes, particularly during Human Rights Month.
The NLC’s delegation included Board Chairperson Barney Pityana and other board members, alongside representatives of local government and traditional leadership structures. According to the Commission, its board and executive management engaged directly with stakeholders at the home to assess fund utilisation and compliance.
The Gugulethu St Benedict Home, established in 1984, provides residential care for elderly persons aged 60 and above. The facility currently accommodates 66 beneficiaries, many of whom are vulnerable due to health conditions or a lack of family support. It employs 33 staff members, with several roles sustained through NLC funding.
The Commission confirmed that around R2.3m (€116,763) was allocated to the home under its Protection of the Vulnerable funding category. The funding supports operational costs, staff salaries and the installation of a solar power system to maintain uninterrupted service delivery.
The NLC said the funding has produced practical outcomes, such as elderly individuals being relocated from unsafe environments into structured care, adding that these results demonstrate the intended social impact of regulated lottery funding in the gambling sector.
The regulator maintains that strengthening governance and monitoring systems remains necessary to ensure that gambling-derived funds are allocated responsibly and produce verifiable social outcomes.
