Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Former Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Condition Stability Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at enough time outlined media stories she said were determined by “stolen” facts within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the knowledge was not a make a difference of point out protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” to the media to expose it.
A completely new board and administration has due to the fact taken above the NLC and So far have taken steps to end corruption for the institution.
A State Protection Company (SSA) investigation found that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for publicity by the media.

The probe into supposed “facts stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security company’s “private” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the position of NLC employees while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered distinct media and stories that she claimed involved these leaks.

From the letter outlining its results, the SSA advised the NLC that although safeguarding point out information and facts was “a authorized imperative aimed toward defending the sovereignty and integrity of your state” this only applied to appropriately categorized information and facts.

Although it did not say so right, the SSA results implied that the allegedly leaked details did not fall into this category.

Substantially, the SSA designed it clear that the necessity to safeguard condition facts “would not prevent any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation identified which the NLC data involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not categorised with regard to the prescripts of your Minimal Data Stability Standards (Pass up)”.

“The leakage on the applicable sensitive official NLC data to the media doesn't pose a risk to national stability,” the SSA reported, including which the influence on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature towards any in the suspected NLC staff members that would be determined from the knowledge and data interrogated”.

Additionally, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give enough motive to have these kinds of uncovered in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, market and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which info “stolen” from your NLC was sent to your US, where by he claimed it had been currently being sold to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating similar claims he experienced Beforehand built in Parliament, which involved advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to name both.

“I arrived here During this August residence last 12 months and reported to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries is stolen and place in one condition in the united states,” he explained to MPs.

“We named around the Point out Security Company to come take a look at the issue for the reason that we are getting reports that our information and facts is building dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There has been communicate, naturally from a single supply, 1 media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but did not tell MPs that the SSA investigation had been concluded Pretty much a year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant course of action. The NLC could by itself establish a job to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda first told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued a statement stating that his remarks reflected “an extremely harmful Perspective the place the media is becoming blamed to the NLC’s inherent issues”.

“Instead of investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute attempted to Solid question within the integrity with the journalists concerned and it has requested the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive projects designed key
Security flaws determined from the NLC grant funding system in the course of the SSA’s investigation, show up to happen to be utilized being an excuse via the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded projects from its central grants process.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and initiatives ended up faraway from the grant funding procedure and preserved manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Business, Executive Manager Lawful as a way to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was loads of inside discussion, with lots of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was within a senior situation in the NLC at time, advised GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to eliminate all the proactive initiatives from your system and limit access to a handful of men and women”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC quite a few several years in the past, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He gained R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to create a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he used to develop a residence within an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The assets is one of quite a few paid for with lottery money that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Device acquired a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near high-ups while in the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their observe.

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

Each time a new administration, such as the full board and executive, took above with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” within the documentation associated with proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-dependent. Vital files ended up missing. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage organization Metrofile were signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was capable to recover copies of some หวย ไทยรัฐ documents from its Mimecast email archiving method and also the laptops of their assistants and support staff.

Information stories
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave issue attainable details stability breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private details attained due to performing official features within the Fee by NLC personnel. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity with the Fee whilst disrupting the productive capabilities [of the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational damage on the Commission because the custodian of personal details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for that SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC firm secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at present dealing with a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in lawful action to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to record the gatherings which transpired referring to information and facts security breaches with the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She mentioned different information stories which she claimed were being the results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its workers, 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 series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman immediately after attempts to boost The difficulty internally had been overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 report in the Day-to-day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene mentioned which the NLC discovered and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker while in the NLC’s East London Business, who was the partner and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 young children.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to symbolize it, but was discovered not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The common Consider these posts is that [they require] categorised details relating to proactive funding assignments,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the spouse and children residence to go ahead and take warmth off her and his kids. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method meant to recognise the damage lots of people endured in the palms in the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, fiscal compensation are envisioned.

“Some persons have been actually impacted pretty negatively by this … This is basically distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Everyday Maverick last 12 months.

“I met a handful of these folks. It was just so heart-wrenching that their full lives have been turned the wrong way up,” stated Scholtz.

Between those she met have been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn towards the media.

“Failure to possess a committed anti-corruption channel will cause workers presenting this sort of instances beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its results.

“Given the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it remains crucial that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its emphasis is on making sure that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated against and by making certain an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without the need of being intimidated.”

It suggested that the NLC build a “safe channel” for workers to offer information on any “untoward activity” that may not prevent or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is a prerequisite.”

Media reports Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The report had aspects of knowledge not readily available in the public domain, thus increasing worry on inner Info security breaches. The allegations in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “On the other hand, personnel answerable for divulging classified facts have but to generally be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 posting printed by the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations from the Limpopo Mirror write-up released on ten December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a previous employee through the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for your risk triggered on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report while in the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been done. “The Lowvelder report contained classified information with regard to NLC policy, elevating further considerations of inside info protection breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts protection challenges throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp had confirmed in its story that it was determined by leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Entry to Details) request for aspects about the challenge, she explained