Lottery bosses turned to State Security Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Company to analyze leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at enough time stated media stories she mentioned were depending on “stolen” information in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It discovered the information was not a issue of state protection and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” to the media to show it.
A fresh board and management has considering that taken over the NLC and So far have taken actions to end corruption in the institution.
A Point out Stability Agency (SSA) investigation identified that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided enough motive” for exposure from the media.

The probe into meant “information safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken right after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote into the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “confidential” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the part of NLC team inside the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified certain media and studies that she claimed concerned these leaks.

During the letter outlining its findings, the SSA advised the NLC that although safeguarding condition details was “a lawful vital aimed toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity with the condition” this only placed on correctly categorised information.

Even though it didn't say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied that the allegedly leaked information and facts did not tumble into this group.

Appreciably, the SSA created it clear that the need to defend condition information “will not reduce any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation identified that the NLC information involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, although not categorised when it comes to the prescripts in the Least Facts Protection Expectations (MISS)”.

“The leakage on the related delicate Formal NLC info to your media doesn't pose a risk to nationwide protection,” the SSA reported, adding that the effect on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no proof of a factual and incriminating character in opposition to any in the suspected NLC personnel that would be determined from the information and information interrogated”.

In addition, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply enough motive to acquire this sort of uncovered while in the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein details “stolen” with the NLC was despatched into the US, exactly where he claimed it was getting offered to fund a smear campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating related statements he had previously made in Parliament, which included advert hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to call either.

“I arrived listed here On this August home past yr and reported to honourable customers that information about our beneficiaries has long been stolen and put in a single point out in America,” he advised MPs.

“We called within the Condition Stability Company to come explore the subject because we are obtaining studies that our data is making dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There was converse, not surprisingly from just one supply, 1 media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not inform MPs which the SSA investigation had been done Practically a year previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts in the looting of your lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant system. The NLC could itself identify a task to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to supervise it.

Soon after Nevhutanda initial instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to investigate the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a press release declaring that his remarks reflected “an extremely dangerous Frame of mind where by the media is being blamed for that NLC’s inherent problems”.

“As an alternative to investigating why tens of millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute tried to Forged doubt on the integrity in the journalists concerned and has requested the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive jobs manufactured magic formula
Safety flaws identified while in the NLC grant funding method through the SSA’s investigation, appear to happen to be utilized being an justification with the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘top secret’ and initiatives were faraway from the grant funding program and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Business, Government Manager Authorized so as to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was lots of internal dialogue, with a lot of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in a senior place with the NLC at enough time, explained to GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to eliminate all the proactive projects from the method and Restrict use of a handful of folks”.

Some in that handful of people were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC many a long time back, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.3-million from lottery cash allocated to create a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he used to create a dwelling in an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The residence is among quite a few paid for with lottery funds that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device attained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to substantial-ups from the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which confused the NLC on their watch.

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

Every time a new administration, including the total board and govt, took above for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation concerning proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based mostly. Critical paperwork ended up lacking. Information held for safekeeping by document storage organization Metrofile had been signed out and by no means returned.

The NLC was capable of recover copies of some ผล หวย paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving process and the laptops in their assistants and support staff.

Information experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave concern probable information and facts protection breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts acquired on account of doing Formal features during the Commission by NLC staff members. The routines are meant to undermine the integrity of your Commission even though disrupting the effective functions [on the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Commission since the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for that SSA to research was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at the moment going through a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to record the situations which transpired regarding info protection breaches in the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She detailed many news studies which she claimed were being the outcome of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this informative article).

Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its staff, Sello Qhino, had “offered her categorized NLC Details and persistently encouraged her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman right after attempts to lift The problem internally were disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 article during the Day-to-day Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene mentioned which the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee while in the NLC’s East London office, who was the spouse plus the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few young children.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, While using the NLC shelling out R470,000 on attorneys to represent it, but was discovered not guilty and allowed to return to work.

“The frequent Consider these posts is always that [they require] categorised details referring to proactive funding assignments,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the spouse and children property to take the heat off her and his youngsters. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.

Equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation method meant to recognise the hurt a number of people experienced at the hands of the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economic compensation are envisioned.

“Some people today were being seriously influenced really negatively by this … This is basically painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Everyday Maverick past yr.

“I met a couple of these persons. It was just so heart-wrenching that their total life are already turned the other way up,” mentioned Scholtz.

Between those she satisfied have been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound System wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at some time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a dedicated anti-corruption channel will bring about workforce presenting these types of scenarios outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its results.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it continues to be vital that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its focus is on making certain that unlawful and irregular perform is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by making sure an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out devoid of being intimidated.”

It advised the NLC set up a “Risk-free channel” for employees to supply information on any “untoward activity” that will not stop or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based on the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, can be a necessity.”

Media reports Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor of the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The posting had aspects of data not accessible in the public domain, therefore increasing issue on interior Info safety breaches. The allegations while in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene reported. “However, employees accountable for divulging classified information have yet to be determined”;
A 28 January 2018 report printed by the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations through the Limpopo Mirror post released on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation referring to a previous staff through the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for the risk brought about to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up while in the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, Regardless of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been completed. “The Lowvelder post contained classified information in terms of NLC plan, elevating additional concerns of inside details security breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened data stability hazards in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Main Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it absolutely was based on leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Access to Information) ask for for details regarding the undertaking, she mentioned

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