Some media personalities whose names have been circulating on social media as nominees for media awards that are alleged to be a scam say that they are worried that their names are being used to defraud members of the public.
Posters of the Limpopo Galaxy awards have been posted and reposted on facebook with the names of artists and sports stars such as Rami Chuene, Benny Mayengani, Oscarine Masuluke, Caster Semenya, DJ Drian and several SABC staff members as some of the nominees.
The posters call for votes at a cost of R1.50 cents per text message.
They also state that tickets for the awards ceremony on December 22 are available at a cost of 300 rand.
The organisers of the awards have however denied that the awards are a scam.
According to a Facebook page that has been titled Limpopo Galaxy Awards, television stars such as Rami Chuene – famously known for her role as Khomotso on SABC 2’s Muvhango, MacDonald Ndou, who plays KK also on Muvhango and Clement Maosa, who portrays the role of Kwaito on SABC 1’s Skeem Saam are some of the nominees for the awards that will be held in Polokwane on December 22.
The page also features artists such as Benny Mayengani, Judith Sephuma, Penny Penny and Maduvha as nominees.
Also nominated for some categories of the Limpopo Galaxy Awards are sports stars such as Caster Semenya, Hlompo Kekana, Rodney Ramagalela and Oscarine Masuluke.
Employees of the SABC’s Phalaphala FM, Munghana Lonene FM, Thobela FM, and Polokwane newsroom also feature prominently on many of the categories.
SABC News’ Witness Tiva and Rudzani Tshivhase who are pitted against their colleagues Katlego Nyoni and Mike Maringa say they are in communication with most of the other people whose names are mentioned on the facebook page, and none of them have been invited to the event, nor notified that they have been nominated.
SABC’s Witness Tiva says:“From the word go I suspected that there was something fishy here, or for instance you never see a TV reporter competing with a radio reporter, so it’s very worrying to see our names apparently used for other reasons.”
2. We are not going because we are not aware of this thing, we only learnt from the social networks some of us we are working for big organisations like the SABC you can just attend such things where even your principals are not aware of such things that is why I am saying it’s a criminal matter, its a police matter.”
The founder of the ITU Plus Galaxy, who is organising the awards, Itumeleng Rakgaole-Mametja says the awards are not a scam.
She says they are still in the process of notifying nominees about the awards.
She says they have moved the award ceremony date to next year March to have sufficient time to get hold of nominees:
“We are not blaming them, because we are still in the process of letting them know, it is definitely not a scam we are going to have this ceremony on the 3rd of March and on the 22nd of December we are going to launch them, but the voting lines are going to be closed at the end of January and then we are going to post a poster that states that tickets that you are buying now are not for the launch, they are for the awards which are going to be on March 3rd and it’s our mistake and we are going to apologise for that.
Rakgaole-Mametja says they are still in the process of acquiring sponsors to ensure that the winners receive prizes.”
