Lottery bosses turned to Point out Stability Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Stability Agency to investigate leaks

Blog Article

Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at enough time stated media stories she reported were being according to “stolen” info within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the data was not a make any difference of condition security and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” to the media to show it.
A different board and management has considering the fact that taken above the NLC and Up to now have taken measures to end corruption with the establishment.
A Point out Stability Company (SSA) investigation discovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied enough motive” for publicity because of the media.

The probe into meant “information and facts stability breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “confidential” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the function of NLC personnel from the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit determined distinct media and studies that she claimed involved these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its results, the SSA instructed the NLC that when guarding point out facts was “a authorized very important aimed at guarding the sovereignty and integrity on the point out” this only placed on properly labeled facts.

Although it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked data did not tumble into this group.

Appreciably, the SSA created it distinct that the necessity to defend point out data “will not reduce any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation identified which the NLC information associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, although not categorised regarding the prescripts with the Minimum Info Safety Specifications (Overlook)”.

“The leakage on the appropriate sensitive official NLC information into the media would not pose a menace to national stability,” the SSA claimed, incorporating that the impression in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of the factual and incriminating character versus any in the suspected NLC employees that would be identified from the information and facts interrogated”.

In addition, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide ample motive to possess these kinds of uncovered from the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information “stolen” within the NLC was despatched for the US, where he claimed it absolutely was getting sold to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating very similar claims he had Beforehand created in Parliament, which bundled ad hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to name either.

“I came below in this August residence very last calendar year and claimed to honourable members that information about our beneficiaries is stolen and put in one point out in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We identified as to the Condition Safety Company to come back explore the make a difference simply because we've been receiving reviews that our information and facts is making cash for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There's been communicate, needless to say from a person source, one particular media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs which the SSA investigation were completed Nearly a yr earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart from the looting in the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant process. The NLC could alone detect a job to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda to start with told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement declaring that his remarks reflected “an extremely perilous Mind-set where the media is currently being blamed for your NLC’s inherent complications”.

“Rather than investigating why tens of millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has in its place tried to cast doubt to the integrity in the journalists included and it has requested the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive tasks made top secret
Protection flaws identified in the NLC grant funding procedure in the SSA’s investigation, look to are already made use of as an justification through the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘solution’ and projects had been faraway from the grant funding process and maintained manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Office environment, Govt Manager Lawful to be able to safeguard [the] information,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of inside discussion, with plenty of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was within a senior position within the NLC at enough time, informed GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to eliminate each of the proactive projects with the method and Restrict usage of a handful of men and women”.

Some in that handful of folks had been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC several a long time in the past, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He been given R4.three-million from lottery resources allotted to make a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he used to build a house within an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The house is one of quite a few paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device acquired a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near large-ups in the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which confused the NLC on their own view.

Also implicated are former board customers William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has given that died.

Each time a new administration, including the complete board and executive, took more than in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” within the documentation referring to proactive funding, much of which was paper-centered. Critical documents were being missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.

The NLC was in the position to recover copies of some หวย ลาว ย้อน หลัง files from its Mimecast e mail archiving program as well as the laptops in their assistants and assist employees.

Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave concern doable info protection breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data attained as a result of executing official features from the Fee by NLC workforce. The activities are meant to undermine the integrity of your Fee though disrupting the helpful capabilities [with the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational damage towards the Fee as being the custodian of non-public info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at this time going through a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to report the functions which transpired associated with info stability breaches for the National Lotteries Fee”.

She detailed various information reports which she claimed ended up the outcomes of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to deliver the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman after tries to lift The problem internally have been dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting during the Each day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene stated which the NLC recognized and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel within the NLC’s East London office, who was the associate and also the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 children.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Together with the NLC expending R470,000 on legal professionals to represent it, but was discovered not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The popular Think about these article content is usually that [they contain] categorised facts associated with proactive funding tasks,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the family members household to go ahead and take heat off her and his young children. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an empty manufacturing unit belonging to an acquaintance.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the hurt a number of people suffered on the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, economic payment are anticipated.

“Some people today have been definitely impacted incredibly negatively by this … This is absolutely unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Everyday Maverick past yr.

“I satisfied two or three these people. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their entire lives have been turned the wrong way up,” explained Scholtz.

Between Those people she achieved ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at some time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in workforce presenting such conditions outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its results.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it stays very important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its focus is on ensuring that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated towards and by making certain an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out devoid of being intimidated.”

It advised the NLC create a “Safe and sound channel” for employees to supply info on any “untoward action” that will not prevent or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is a prerequisite.”

Media reviews Nene stated
A ten December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The write-up had aspects of knowledge not readily available in the general public area, therefore boosting worry on inner Details safety breaches. The allegations within the media were independently investigated,” Nene said. “However, workforce accountable for divulging categorised information and facts have nonetheless to generally be determined”;
A 28 January 2018 post posted through the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations from the Limpopo Mirror post posted on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation relating to a former personnel because of the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for the threat brought on towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 post inside the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been done. “The Lowvelder short article contained labeled info regarding NLC plan, elevating additional problems of internal data security breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened information security hazards inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had verified in its story that it was based on leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Entry to Info) ask for for specifics regarding the project, she claimed