The march by NGOs against the National Lotteries Board (NLB) showed the growing national anger over the way the NLB distributes our public funds, according to Shelagh Gastrow, one of the founders of Inyathelo, the South African Institute for Advancement.

Gastrow states that the lack of accountability and transparency over the way the lottery operates and its random decision making, poor management and inefficient administration is devastating the essential work of many wonderful NGOs in the country.

She argues that one of the key problems is that the distribution agencies that make the decisions about the ‘lucky NGOs’ that receive grants do not report directly to the NLB itself.