Funding was awarded just weeks after the company was registered, and after the event took place.
By Raymond Joseph…
The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) awarded a half-a-million rand grant to a brand new nonprofit company just two weeks after it was registered, to help pay for a music extravaganza staged by acclaimed South African singer, songwriter and activist Simphiwe Dana.
The grant was approved by the NLC on 13 December 2019, a week after the Simphiwe Dana Symphony Experience was staged at the State Theatre in Pretoria on 7 December.
Tickets for the show cost between R500 and R1,500. The Department of Arts and Culture was listed as a sponsor in pre-event marketing, but the NLC was not.
The grant was approved by the NLC on 13 December 2019, a week after the
Simphiwe Dana Symphony Experience was staged at the State Theatre in Pretoria on 7 December.
Tickets for the show cost between R500 and R1,500. The Department of Arts and Culture was listed as a sponsor in pre-event marketing, but the NLC was not.
The Black Carrot Organization was first registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission on 29 November 2019, just two weeks before the concert. Dana, interior stylist Siyabesho Thutha and celebrity chef Thembalethu Gwejela, were listed as its three directors.
The listed address for the Black Carrot Organization is in Orange Grove, Johannesburg. Also registered at the same address are three other Black Carrot entities, of which Dana is also a director. They are Black Carrot Arts, Black Carrot Creative Solutions and Black Carrot Publishing.