Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

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Previous National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at the time detailed media studies she explained ended up according to “stolen” info within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did examine. It identified the data wasn't a issue of state protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to show it.
A whole new board and administration has due to the fact taken more than the NLC and To date have taken measures to end corruption with the establishment.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation identified the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered enough motive” for publicity by the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the function of NLC staff from the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined specific media and studies that she claimed associated these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its results, the SSA explained to the NLC that although preserving point out info was “a legal critical targeted at preserving the sovereignty and integrity of the state” this only placed on correctly labeled facts.

Although it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked details did not slide into this class.

Substantially, the SSA made it apparent that the need to protect condition info “would not avoid any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation uncovered that the NLC data linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not categorized with regard to the prescripts of the Minimal Details Safety Expectations (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage with the suitable delicate official NLC info to the media does not pose a danger to nationwide security,” the SSA reported, incorporating that the effects on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no proof of a factual and incriminating character against any on the suspected NLC workers which could be identified from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.

Furthermore, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give ample motive to possess this sort of exposed during the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where data “stolen” from your NLC was sent into the US, in which he claimed it had been becoming offered to fund a smear marketing campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating very similar promises he had previously designed in Parliament, which integrated advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was mindful not to call both.

“I arrived here On this August household past year and reported to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one state in the usa,” he explained to MPs.

“We termed to the Condition Security Company to come back consider the matter because we have been obtaining experiences that our data is producing revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There have been discuss, of course from one particular resource, one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation had been finished Virtually a yr earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart from the looting from the lottery. It side-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could alone discover a task to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to oversee it.

Just after Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement indicating that his remarks reflected “an incredibly hazardous Angle in which the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Rather then investigating why millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative attempted to Solid doubt around the integrity in the journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive projects made top secret
Protection flaws recognized within the NLC grant funding procedure over the SSA’s investigation, look to happen to be made use of as an excuse by the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘key’ and initiatives were removed from the grant funding program and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Office, Executive Supervisor Lawful so as to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was loads of inside discussion, with plenty of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside of a senior situation on the NLC at the time, instructed GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to eliminate every one of the proactive tasks in the system and Restrict access to A few men and women”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC a number of decades in the past, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He gained R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to make a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he used to construct a household within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The property is one of a number of paid for with lottery funds which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near significant-ups from the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their watch.

Also implicated are previous 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 may have due to the fact died.

When a new administration, including the overall board and executive, took above in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they uncovered a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation relating to proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-based mostly. Critical paperwork had been lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage firm Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was in the position to Recuperate copies of some ตรวจ paperwork from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving method along with the laptops in their assistants and assist workers.

News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave issue doable information and facts stability breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private details received on account of executing Formal capabilities inside the Commission by NLC workforce. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission while disrupting the efficient functions [of your NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt on the Commission as the custodian of private data 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 presently struggling with a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in legal action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to document the gatherings which transpired relating to details protection breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She stated various information experiences which she claimed were being the results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her categorised NLC Facts and persistently encouraged her to offer the information to GroundUp”.

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

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting during the Day by day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene mentioned which the NLC determined after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff while in the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the husband or wife as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few young children.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC investing R470,000 on attorneys to characterize it, but was uncovered not responsible and permitted to return to operate.

“The widespread Consider these content is the fact [they require] labeled data associated with proactive funding tasks,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your relatives property to go ahead and take heat off her and his kids. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Place of work within an empty manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.

The two Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the hurt many people endured for the arms of your NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, monetary compensation are expected.

“Some individuals were really afflicted pretty negatively by this … This is admittedly agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Every day Maverick last 12 months.

“I satisfied a couple of these persons. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their entire life happen to be turned the other way up,” stated Scholtz.

Between These she satisfied were being Qhino and Makatse.

Secure platform wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn on the media.

“Failure to possess a committed anti-corruption channel will end in workforce presenting such cases beyond the NLC,” the SSA reported in its conclusions.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it stays critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its concentrate is on making sure that illegal and irregular perform is adequately mitigated versus and by making certain an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without currently being intimidated.”

It recommended the NLC create a “safe channel” for employees to offer info on any “untoward exercise” that would not avoid or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, dependant on the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a requirement.”

Media reports Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator on the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The posting had elements of knowledge not accessible in the general public area, thereby increasing concern on inner Information safety breaches. The allegations during the media had been independently investigated,” Nene explained. “However, staff chargeable for divulging classified info have but to get determined”;
A 28 January 2018 short article released via the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations within the Limpopo Mirror posting released on 10 December 2017 along with a new allegation relating to a previous worker by the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for that threat prompted on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 write-up in the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, Despite acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been accomplished. “The Lowvelder short article contained categorised info regarding NLC coverage, increasing even further fears of interior information and facts stability breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened facts safety risks throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it had been based on leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Entry to Information and facts) request for information concerning the task, she reported