Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

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Former National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at enough time listed media stories she mentioned have been based on “stolen” information and facts within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It observed the knowledge wasn't a make a difference of state safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” with the media to show it.
A fresh board and administration has since taken above the NLC and Up to now have taken steps to end corruption at the establishment.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied sufficient motive” for exposure via the media.

The probe into supposed “information protection breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out soon after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote into the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at this time suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security agency’s “confidential” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to analyze the job of NLC staff members inside the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized precise media and reviews that she claimed included these leaks.

During the letter outlining its findings, the SSA explained to the NLC that when safeguarding point out info was “a authorized essential geared toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity with the point out” this only placed on properly categorized info.

Although it didn't say so immediately, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked information did not drop into this class.

Appreciably, the SSA made it very clear that the need to defend state info “will not stop any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation uncovered the NLC information linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not classified with regard to the prescripts of the Minimal Facts Stability Requirements (Overlook)”.

“The leakage on the suitable delicate Formal NLC data to your media won't pose a menace to nationwide safety,” the SSA stated, adding which the affect in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature in opposition to any from the suspected NLC workforce which could be recognized from the data and information interrogated”.

It also said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer sufficient motive to obtain this sort of exposed from the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, market and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein information “stolen” within the NLC was despatched on the US, in which he claimed it was remaining marketed to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating very similar claims he experienced previously designed in Parliament, which incorporated advert hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to name both.

“I arrived right here With this August home very last year and described to honourable customers that details about our beneficiaries is stolen and place in one state in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We termed within the Condition Safety Agency to return check into the matter because we are acquiring reports that our facts is producing revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There has been talk, certainly from one supply, 1 media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but failed to tell MPs the SSA investigation had been done almost a year before.

Proactive funding was at the center of your looting of the lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant process. The NLC could by itself establish a job to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.

Following Nevhutanda first explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a press release indicating that his remarks reflected “a particularly hazardous Frame of mind where the media is getting blamed for that NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Instead of investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has in its place attempted to Forged doubt within the integrity of your journalists included and has questioned the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive assignments created secret
Protection flaws recognized in the NLC grant funding system during the SSA’s investigation, look to are actually applied as an justification with the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘solution’ and jobs were faraway from the grant funding process and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Office environment, Govt Supervisor Lawful so as to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inside dialogue, with a great deal of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior place with the NLC at some time, told GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive assignments from the process and Restrict access to a handful of people”.

Some in that handful of individuals ended up implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC a number of many years back, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He been given R4.three-million from lottery funds allotted to construct a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he employed to make a residence in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The house is among quite a few paid for with lottery cash which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups inside the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which overcome the NLC on their look at.

Also implicated are former board customers William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have because died.

Each time a new administration, including the overall board and executive, took about on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” within the documentation associated with proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-primarily based. Key documents have been lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage organization Metrofile were signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was able to recover copies of some ตัว หวย documents from its Mimecast e mail archiving system as well as the laptops of their assistants and assistance employees.

Information experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave issue probable facts protection breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts received as a result of undertaking official functions inside the Fee by NLC workforce. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity of the Commission when disrupting the efficient functions [from the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational damage on the Fee since the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for to the SSA to investigate was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at present going through a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in legal action to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to history the situations which transpired regarding details security breaches for the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She listed numerous news reports which she claimed have been the outcomes of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this informative article).

Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff, Sello Qhino, had “provided her categorised NLC Facts and persistently encouraged her to deliver the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman immediately after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally have been disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 article from the Day-to-day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene mentioned which the NLC recognized after which you can suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker from the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the spouse plus the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to stand for it, but was observed not guilty and permitted to return to work.

“The common Consider these articles or blog posts is the fact [they entail] classified facts referring to proactive funding projects,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family residence to take the heat off her and his children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Business within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a colleague.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system intended to recognise the harm a number of people endured with the fingers on the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economic compensation are envisioned.

“Some men and women had been actually afflicted quite negatively by this … This is absolutely painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Every day Maverick very last calendar year.

“I achieved a few these people today. It was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives are actually turned upside down,” explained Scholtz.

Between those she satisfied were being Qhino and Makatse.

Secure platform wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at some time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to your media.

“Failure to have a dedicated anti-corruption channel will bring about staff members presenting these kinds of instances beyond the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its conclusions.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it continues to be vital that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its target is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by making sure an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without having being intimidated.”

It advisable the NLC create a “Safe and sound channel” for employees to provide info on any “untoward action” that might not avoid or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, according to the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a need.”

Media studies Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator on the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The posting experienced elements of data not obtainable in the public domain, thus increasing worry on inside Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations during the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Nonetheless, personnel to blame for divulging classified information and facts have nevertheless to be determined”;
A 28 January 2018 article released from the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations in the Limpopo Mirror report published on 10 December 2017 as well as a new allegation regarding a former employee via the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the danger triggered on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up while in the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been finished. “The Lowvelder posting contained labeled information and facts with regard to NLC policy, elevating further concerns of inside information and facts safety breaches,” Nene said in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts safety threats inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it absolutely was depending on leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Usage of Information) request for aspects regarding the undertaking, she mentioned