THE Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) has finally released details about the long-awaited Fundudzi forensic investigation report after two years.
Samro said it had resolved to release the independent forensic investigation into undocumented works claims to its members.
The artists have been asking for the report to be released since 2023 because they claimed it had information about alleged corruption happening at Samro.
The Samro forensic investigation revealed that out of R62,8 million in total claims for undocumented works between FY2020-2022, about R3,4 million was flagged as potentially fraudulent or irregular and is now under criminal investigation.
They also claimed that the investigation found no evidence of improper conduct by current or former board members.
According to Samro, parts of the Fundudzi report were redacted due to legal requirements, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), and because some matters could still be subject to criminal or civil litigation.
ALSO READ | Actress makes European TV history!Opens in new window
"The Southern African Music Rights Organisation NPC (Samro) would like to inform members that the Samro board has resolved to release the independent forensic investigation report prepared by Fundudzi Forensic Services into undocumented works claims to members.
"It's essential to note that certain confidential information, which may breach legislation such as Popia, or be subject to criminal or civil claims, has been redacted in accordance with the relevant legal requirements for the processes to be completed and those parties implicated can exercise their rights," the organisation said.
Samro said the move was aimed at transparency and protecting the organisation from legal risk.
"The purpose of the release is to promote transparency and place accurate information before our membership. The independent legal opinion that Samro obtained, clearly outlined the potential risks and significant damages the organisation could face, were the full report to be distributed publicly," the statement read.
Samro also stressed that the forensic report was not a court ruling.
"Please also note that the forensic report is not a court judgment, and the findings and conclusions therein have not been tested. In fact, as will be clear below, many legal processes are underway, and any implicated parties must still provide their defence," they said.
However, the release has sparked anger among artists, who accused Samro of misleading the public and hiding key information contained in what they claimed is the full Fundudzi report.
Artists' representative Owen Ndlovu said they were unhappy with what Samro released.
"We're very, very disappointed to say Samro is confusing and misleading the public. People might think members are defying the organisation. No, the fact of the matter is this is not even Samro, it's one individual, Annabell, the CEO, who continues to do the wrong things," Owen said.
He claimed the statement released by Samro doesn't reflect the actual Fundudzi findings.
"That's not the original report from Fundudzi. We've got a report from Fundudzi, and that report is detailing and telling exactly who the culprits are. It's got the names of the organisations that are affected. What is happening now is that Samro is continuing to protect the criminality," he said.
Owen further alleged governance failures at the organisation.
"We've got proof now that the CEO has taken decisions without consulting the board. It was confirmed that some of the board members did not vote on most of the motions that were passed, including challenging AU in court. That was solely the decision of the CEO," he said.
Responding to criticism over the redactions, Samro said it acted to protect itself from legal action.
"We have shared the redacted report for now because members think we are suppressing it, even though it's reduced to exclude names so that they won't sue us," Samro said.
