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PRESS RELEASES
| 7/24/2001 |
NLDTF RESPONSE TO CITIZEN |
| The Editor The Citizen Johannesburg Fax: 011-248 6123 24 July 2001 Dear Sir/Madam NATIONAL LOTTERY AND THE FUNDING PROCESS Mr. Subel’s letter titled, “Lotto millions do not benefit Child Welfare” in The Citizen of 24.07.2001 has reference. We acknowledge the sentiments of Mr. Subel and would like to inform him that only the first 54 beneficiary organisations have been identified. There are still many more applications that will be considered over the next weeks and successful applicants will be informed accordingly as the process unfolds. The process thus far is as follows: 1.Applications from charitable organisations were called for on 25th March 2001. The adverts calling for applications outlined the qualifying criteria. 2.The closing date for applications was set at 18th May 2001, giving organisations 8 weeks to submit proposals. 3.The majority of the applications were received in the last week. As a matter of fairness to all applicants, it was decided to adjudicate on applications in the order in which they were received. 4.Our Central Applications Office has sent out letters of acknowledgement to all applicants informing them that their applications are under consideration. 5.The Members of the Charities Distributing Agency met on 8th and 9th June 2001 to adjudicate on the first 104 applications processed. At the first sitting, 54 organisations were found to meet the criteria and an amount of R8million was allocated to them. 6.This process will continue over the next weeks until all 2 317 applications received have been adjudicated. 7.In the adjudication of applications, due consideration is being given to organisations that risk closure or scaling down as a result of lack of finances. It should also be noted that some of the more established organisations have large reserve funds, accumulated over the years, invested in trust funds and yet claim financial difficulty. In view of the above, it is therefore premature and unsubstantiated to comment on the applications that have yet to be adjudicated. To date, no organisation has been advised that its application has been unsuccessful. Organisations should deem their applications still under consideration until such time as they are advised differently. Yours faithfully NATIONAL LOTTERIES BOARD _____________ Joe Foster Chairperson |
