Lottery bosses turned to State Protection Company to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Protection Company to research leaks

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Previous National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at enough time stated media experiences she reported were being according to “stolen” info within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the data was not a make any difference of condition stability and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to reveal it.
A brand new board and administration has because taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken actions to end corruption within the institution.
A State Protection Company (SSA) investigation found that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished enough motive” for publicity via the media.

The probe into meant “information security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote into the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the role 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.

In the letter outlining its findings, the SSA advised the NLC that though defending condition facts was “a lawful very important aimed at guarding the sovereignty and integrity in the state” this only placed on correctly labeled facts.

Even though it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked details didn't slide into this class.

Considerably, the SSA built it crystal clear that the need to guard state facts “will not reduce any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation identified the NLC information associated with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not labeled in terms of the prescripts from the Minimal Data Safety Expectations (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage with the suitable sensitive official NLC information into the media would not pose a menace to national stability,” the SSA explained, including which the effect of the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature in opposition to any of your suspected NLC personnel that could be determined from the data and data interrogated”.

What's more, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer ample motive to get these uncovered from the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which information and facts “stolen” within the NLC was sent to the US, where by he claimed it had been becoming marketed to fund a smear campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating comparable promises he experienced Formerly built in Parliament, which incorporated advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was cautious not to name both.

“I arrived in this article Within this August property last yr and described to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has long been stolen and set in a single state in America,” he advised MPs.

“We identified as over the Point out Stability Company to come back check into the subject for the reason that we have been finding studies that our data is producing cash for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There have been discuss, needless to say from one supply, 1 media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs that the SSA investigation had been concluded almost a yr before.

Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting with the lottery. It facet-stepped the normal grant course of action. The NLC could by itself determine a project to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda 1st told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued a press release expressing that his remarks mirrored “a very harmful Mind-set exactly where the media is currently being blamed with the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“Rather then investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute attempted to Solid doubt within the integrity on the journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to analyze their sources.”

Proactive tasks produced magic formula
Stability flaws determined while in the NLC grant funding method during the SSA’s investigation, surface to are already utilized being an justification with the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘secret’ and tasks ended up faraway from the grant funding system and taken care of manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Business, Govt Supervisor Authorized so as to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was loads of inside discussion, with a lot of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside a senior posture for the NLC at time, told GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to get rid of all the proactive assignments from the technique and Restrict entry to a handful of people today”.

Some in that handful of men and women had been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC various a long time back, is implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery funds allocated to develop a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he made use of to build a property within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The property is one of a number of paid for with lottery funds that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device attained a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to high-ups in the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overcome the NLC on their enjoy.

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

When a new administration, including the overall board and executive, took in excess of within 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 files were being lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage organization Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was capable of Recuperate copies of some ตรวจ ล้อ ต เต อ รี่ files from its Mimecast email archiving technique as well as laptops in their assistants and support employees.

News reports
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave issue doable information and facts protection breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential info attained due to executing Formal features within the Fee by NLC staff. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity of your Commission when disrupting the efficient features [of your NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational damage into the Commission because the custodian of non-public information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at this time struggling with a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to report the activities which transpired referring to information stability breaches on the National Lotteries Commission”.

She listed several news studies which she claimed were the final results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this information).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff, Sello Qhino, had “furnished her categorised NLC Information and persistently encouraged her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman following attempts to lift The difficulty internally ended up overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 article in the Day by 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 inside 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 since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC paying out R470,000 on attorneys to represent it, but was observed not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The prevalent Consider these articles is always that [they include] labeled information referring to proactive funding jobs,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the household house to take the warmth off her and his little ones. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Business office within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to an acquaintance.

Each Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the hurt a lot of people suffered for the hands of your NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economical payment are expected.

“Some folks were seriously affected quite negatively by this … This is actually distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day by day Maverick very last year.

“I fulfilled a number of these men and women. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total lives happen to be turned the other way up,” mentioned Scholtz.

Between Individuals she achieved ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Harmless platform necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at the time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will lead to employees presenting these types of circumstances beyond the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its conclusions.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it remains important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its aim is on making certain that illegal and irregular perform is adequately mitigated versus and by guaranteeing an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without staying intimidated.”

It suggested the NLC create a “Protected channel” for employees to deliver information on any “untoward exercise” that could not avoid or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is often a requirement.”

Media reviews Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report experienced elements of information not offered in the general public area, thus boosting issue on inside Info stability breaches. The allegations from the media were independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Having said that, staff members chargeable for divulging categorized info have still to become determined”;
A 28 January 2018 article revealed via the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations within the Limpopo Mirror write-up released on 10 December 2017 along with a new allegation referring to a former personnel via the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed to the menace brought on on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report from the Lowvelder regarding 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 concluded. “The Lowvelder report contained labeled details with regards to NLC plan, raising further considerations of inside information and facts stability breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts stability threats throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp had verified in its story that it was according to leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Information and facts) request for specifics concerning the undertaking, she explained