Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to research leaks

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Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at time mentioned media studies she said have been according to “stolen” data within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It discovered the information was not a make a difference of condition safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for the media to show it.
A new board and administration has since taken around the NLC and Up to now have taken actions to end corruption for the institution.
A Point out Safety Company (SSA) investigation observed that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered ample motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into intended “information safety breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out following 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 present suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the function of NLC employees inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified unique media and stories that she claimed included these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA instructed the NLC that although guarding point out details was “a lawful critical aimed at guarding the sovereignty and integrity in the state” this only applied to properly classified information.

Even though it didn't say so right, the SSA results implied that the allegedly leaked info didn't slide into this category.

Considerably, the SSA designed it clear that the need to secure state info “doesn't prevent any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation uncovered the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, but not categorised with regards to the prescripts from the Minimum amount Information and facts Protection Requirements (Overlook)”.

“The leakage of your appropriate delicate Formal NLC facts for the media doesn't pose a menace to national stability,” the SSA claimed, including that the affect with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no evidence of the factual and incriminating mother nature against any in the suspected NLC workforce that may be identified from the information and information interrogated”.

In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer enough motive to obtain these exposed in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein data “stolen” within the NLC was sent for the US, wherever he claimed it absolutely was becoming offered to fund a smear campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating very similar statements he had Formerly manufactured in Parliament, which provided advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to call either.

“I arrived in this article During this August household previous year and claimed to honourable customers that details about our beneficiaries has been stolen and place in a single condition in the usa,” he informed MPs.

“We termed within the Point out Security Agency to come back take a look at the make a difference mainly because we are obtaining studies that our facts is generating cash for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There's been discuss, naturally from one particular supply, a single media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but didn't convey to MPs which the SSA investigation had been finished Nearly a 12 months previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts with the looting in the lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant procedure. The NLC could alone determine a challenge to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

Right after Nevhutanda to start with informed Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued an announcement expressing that his remarks mirrored “an extremely harmful Frame of mind wherever the media is remaining blamed with the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“Rather than investigating why millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has in its place attempted to cast question about the integrity from the journalists associated and has questioned the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive assignments made solution
Security flaws determined within the NLC grant funding process through the SSA’s investigation, show up to happen to be utilised being an excuse through the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘solution’ and assignments have been faraway from the grant funding program and maintained manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Workplace, Govt Supervisor Lawful so as to safeguard [the] info,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was plenty of internal discussion, with numerous forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside of a senior situation on the NLC at enough time, explained to GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to remove every one of the proactive initiatives within the method and limit entry to a handful of individuals”.

Some in that handful of men and women ended up implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC many decades back, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He been given R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to create a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he utilised to build a house in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The residence is among many compensated for with lottery funds that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near significant-ups during the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their check out.

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

Every time a new administration, such as the complete board and govt, took over with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation regarding proactive funding, much of which was paper-primarily based. Essential paperwork have been missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage business Metrofile were signed out and never returned.

The NLC was in a position to Get better copies of some ตรวจ สลาก documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving technique as well as laptops in their assistants and aid staff.

Information experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave concern possible information stability breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information received because of performing Formal functions while in the Fee by NLC personnel. The actions are intended to undermine the integrity of your Commission even though disrupting the effective functions [on the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational harm for the Commission since the custodian of non-public information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for with the SSA to analyze was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at this time struggling with a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to report the functions which transpired referring to information and facts protection breaches at the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She detailed many news stories which she claimed were the outcome of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, experienced “presented her labeled NLC Information and facts and persistently inspired her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman after tries to boost the issue internally were being overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 article from the Day-to-day Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene explained which the NLC recognized and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker during the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the lover and also the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC paying R470,000 on attorneys to symbolize it, but was identified not guilty and permitted to return to work.

“The typical Think about these article content is the fact [they entail] classified information and facts associated with proactive funding projects,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family household to go ahead and take heat off her and his young children. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Business office within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.

Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation approach meant to recognise the damage a lot of people endured with the palms on the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, money compensation are anticipated.

“Some people today ended up truly influenced very negatively by this … This is absolutely distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day-to-day Maverick past year.

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

Between Those people she fulfilled have been Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free platform needed for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at enough time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to your media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to workforce presenting these kinds of instances beyond 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 safety prescripts and that its concentration is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by making certain an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform devoid of becoming intimidated.”

It suggested the NLC build a “Risk-free channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward activity” that might not reduce or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, depending on the Safeguarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is often a need.”

Media stories Nene detailed
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor in the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The short article had things of information not out there in the public area, thus boosting concern on inside Information stability breaches. The allegations in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Nevertheless, personnel chargeable for divulging labeled details have nevertheless to be determined”;
A 28 January 2018 post revealed through the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations from the Limpopo Mirror short article revealed on ten December 2017 plus a new allegation relating to a previous staff with the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the threat brought about to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 report in the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been finished. “The Lowvelder report contained categorized data with regard to NLC plan, boosting further concerns of inside data safety breaches,” Nene said in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened details stability hazards throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it was determined by leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Data) ask for for aspects in regards to the task, she reported

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