The commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), Thabang Charlotte Mampane, is in hot water.
Mampane has resigned with immediate effect from the NLC, according to various media reports.
Mampane left just a few weeks before her contract was due to expire.
She served as commissioner for 10 years at the NLC and was essentially the chief executive officer.
So what was the reason for her apparent desertion?
She has been inundated with corruption allegations over the past years and it seems the latest allegation was the straw that broke the camel’s back this week.
Numerous media organisations have reported lottery funding meant to rebuild a burnt Limpopo school was used instead to pay for Mampane’s luxury home on a golf estate.
According to reports, the home in question is located in the Pecanwood Estate near the Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West.
Mampane and her family, including her husband and children, are the apparent beneficiaries of the trust that owns the home.
News organisation GroundUp reported Mampane used lottery grants on numerous occasions to fund her propensity for buying homes.
What is is even more chilling is these funds were meant to assist communities and families in marginalised and poverty-stricken areas.
As it stands, Mampane earned R4.5 million last year and went on leave when reports surfaced of her alleged malfeasance. She was facing disciplinary action but her resignation will undoubtedly impact this process.
NOT HER FIRST HIGH-POWERED JOB
Mampane previously worked for the SABC. She was the acting chief operations officer (COO) and was forced to resign in 2010 after she was caught spying on CCTV.
She was apparently “eavesdropping” on a board meeting evaluating her performance.
What is even more unbelievable is she was given a “golden handshake” of R4.3m by the SABC to leave the company and vacate her contract early.
WHO IS MAMPANE?
According to Mampane, she completed her first degree in 1980.
Speaking at the Standard Bank Top Women Awards conference in 2021, she said she had worked as an assistant training officer at the Public Service Commission of the then Bophuthatswana Public Service.
“I worked for the Human Sciences Research Council for a year – as an assistant technical officer for research. Thereafter I spent 27 years in the information and communications / broadcasting industry,” Mampane told the conference.
She attained an Honours degree from Unisa and a Master’s degree from the University of the Witwatersrand Business School.
When asked about her passions and interests outside of work, she spoke about her philanthropy.
“I am involved in many outreach projects at church as well as feeding schemes – once a month for unemployed and homeless people in my area.”
A quote that will perhaps not age well.
BUSINESS REPORT