Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at the time detailed media reports she explained were being determined by “stolen” facts within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It located the information wasn't a make any difference of point out security and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” to the media to expose it.
A brand new board and management has given that taken about the NLC and Up to now have taken actions to end corruption within the institution.
A Condition Stability Agency (SSA) investigation located which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered sufficient motive” for publicity because of the media.

The probe into meant “info safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken soon after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the function of NLC team from the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered particular media and studies that she claimed associated these leaks.

In the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA explained to the NLC that whilst safeguarding state details was “a legal essential targeted at guarding the sovereignty and integrity in the condition” this only placed on properly classified information.

Although it didn't say so immediately, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked information and facts did not slide into this category.

Substantially, the SSA made it crystal clear that the need to guard state information “does not protect against any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not labeled with regard to the prescripts with the Minimum amount Data Protection Specifications (Pass up)”.

“The leakage with the suitable delicate official NLC facts for the media won't pose a threat to national protection,” the SSA mentioned, adding which the affect from the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no proof of a factual and incriminating character against any with the suspected NLC staff that could be determined from the data and information interrogated”.

In addition it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present enough motive to have this kind of exposed inside the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information “stolen” within the NLC was despatched for the US, exactly where he claimed it absolutely was getting sold to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating identical claims he experienced Beforehand created in Parliament, which bundled ad hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to name either.

“I came below in this August residence very last calendar year and claimed to honourable members that information about our beneficiaries is stolen and put in one point out in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We identified as to the Condition Security Company to come back consider the matter because we have been acquiring experiences that our facts is producing revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There have been chat, of course from one particular resource, 1 media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but failed to explain to MPs the SSA investigation had been concluded Just about a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the guts with the looting of your lottery. It facet-stepped the conventional grant approach. The NLC could by itself recognize a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to supervise it.

Immediately after Nevhutanda 1st informed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued a press release stating that his remarks mirrored “an extremely risky Mindset wherever the media is becoming blamed to the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“As opposed to investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has rather tried to cast doubt on the integrity of your journalists associated and it has asked the SSA to analyze their sources.”

Proactive assignments designed secret
Protection flaws determined within the NLC grant funding technique during the SSA’s investigation, surface to are used being an excuse because of the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and tasks were removed from the grant funding procedure and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Workplace, Government Supervisor Lawful so as to safeguard [the] data,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was many inner dialogue, with a lot of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was within a senior place on the NLC at time, informed GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to remove each of the proactive projects from the process and Restrict access to A few men and women”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC many a long time back, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He been given R4.three-million from lottery resources allotted to make a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he used to build a dwelling within an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The home is among various paid out for with lottery resources that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to higher-ups from the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own check out.

Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned immediately after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have because died.

Whenever a new administration, including the whole board and executive, took over at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” in the documentation relating to proactive funding, much of which was paper-centered. Essential documents were being missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was capable to Get better copies of some สลาก กิน รัฐบาล paperwork from its Mimecast e-mail archiving system as well as laptops of their assistants and support team.

News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave worry feasible facts security breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private info acquired due to accomplishing Formal capabilities within the Commission by NLC workers. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission whilst disrupting the efficient functions [of your NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational damage for the Commission given that the custodian of non-public info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is now going through a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to file the situations which transpired relating to details safety breaches with the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She shown several information studies which she claimed have been the outcome of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “provided her labeled NLC Details and persistently inspired her to supply the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman soon after tries to raise The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 short article during the Every day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene reported which the NLC discovered and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff during the NLC’s East London office, who was the partner and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three kids.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC expending R470,000 on lawyers to stand for it, but was identified not responsible and permitted to return to work.

“The widespread Think about these posts is the fact [they involve] categorized data concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the household household to go ahead and take heat off her and his youngsters. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Business office in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a pal.

Each Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the damage a number of people experienced with the arms on the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, fiscal payment are expected.

“Some persons were actually influenced very negatively by this … This is basically agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day by day Maverick last year.

“I met a few these people. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total life are already turned the wrong way up,” stated Scholtz.

Among Those people she fulfilled had been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe System required for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at enough time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn into the media.

“Failure to possess a dedicated anti-corruption channel will cause personnel presenting these conditions outside of the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its conclusions.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it remains vital that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its target is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated towards and by guaranteeing an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without the need of getting intimidated.”

It advised that the NLC create a “Risk-free channel” for employees to supply info on any “untoward action” that could not protect against or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, according to the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is a prerequisite.”

Media reports Nene detailed
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner on the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The report experienced features of information not accessible in the public domain, therefore raising concern on interior Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations while in the media had been independently investigated,” Nene stated. “However, workforce accountable for divulging labeled information have yet being identified”;
A 28 January 2018 short article published because of the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations from your Limpopo Mirror short article published on 10 December 2017 as well as a new allegation regarding a previous personnel via the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that menace induced on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 post within the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder post contained categorised details in terms of NLC coverage, boosting additional fears of inner facts stability breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened information stability risks within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it absolutely was based on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Details) ask for for facts concerning the project, she reported