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 Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at enough time mentioned media experiences she said were depending on “stolen” details in an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It identified the information wasn't a issue of point out safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” with the media to reveal it.
A brand new board and administration has given that taken around the NLC and So far have taken actions to finish corruption at the institution.
A State Safety Company (SSA) investigation uncovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied ample motive” for exposure through the media.

The probe into supposed “details safety 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 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 while in the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized unique media and reviews that she claimed included these leaks.

In the letter outlining its results, the SSA instructed the NLC that while defending condition facts was “a lawful imperative geared toward defending the sovereignty and integrity in the condition” this only applied to appropriately categorised information and facts.

Even though it did not say so straight, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked data did not tumble into this class.

Considerably, the SSA made it crystal clear that the need to secure condition information and facts “isn't going to stop any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC info involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not categorised with regards to the prescripts on the Least Details Protection Criteria (Pass up)”.

“The leakage of the pertinent sensitive official NLC information and facts into the media will not pose a menace to nationwide safety,” the SSA explained, introducing which the affect from the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no proof of the factual and incriminating nature versus any in the suspected NLC personnel that could be discovered from the information and details interrogated”.

Additionally, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide sufficient motive to own such exposed within the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which info “stolen” from the NLC was despatched for the US, exactly where he claimed it absolutely was getting sold to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating very similar claims he had Earlier produced in Parliament, which involved ad hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call either.

“I came right here With this August house final yr and documented to honourable customers that information regarding our beneficiaries has long been stolen and set in a single condition in the united states,” he informed MPs.

“We referred to as within the State Stability Agency to come take a look at the subject mainly because we're getting stories that our details is generating income for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There was talk, not surprisingly from 1 supply, a person media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but didn't convey to MPs which the SSA investigation were completed Nearly 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 establish a task to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.

After Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued a press release saying that his remarks mirrored “an extremely unsafe attitude the place the media is remaining blamed for your NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively attempted to Solid doubt around the integrity in the journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive tasks produced secret
Stability flaws determined inside the NLC grant funding method during the SSA’s investigation, show up to have already been used as an justification from the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded projects from its central grants process.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘solution’ and projects had been removed from the grant funding process and managed manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business office, Government Manager Legal as a way to safeguard [the] data,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of inner discussion, with many forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a very senior placement in the NLC at some time, advised GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to eliminate each of the proactive projects through the system and limit use of A few individuals”.

Some in that handful of men and women were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC quite a few several years ago, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He gained R4.three-million from lottery funds allocated to make a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he employed to make a home in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The residence is among quite a few paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to superior-ups while in the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their watch.

Also implicated are former board customers William Huma, who resigned right after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got due to the fact died.

Whenever a new administration, including the overall board and executive, took over for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they uncovered a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation regarding proactive funding, much of which was paper-based. Key paperwork have been lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was capable to Get better copies of some หวย หุ้น files from its Mimecast e mail archiving program and also the laptops in their assistants and assistance staff.

News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave worry possible data stability breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts obtained as a result of executing official features from the Fee by NLC staff members. The things to do are meant to undermine the integrity with the Fee even though disrupting the powerful features [from the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational hurt to your Commission as the custodian of private data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is now experiencing a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to document the gatherings which transpired concerning info safety breaches on the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She detailed different news reviews which she claimed had been the outcomes of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this information).

Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, had “furnished her categorized NLC Information and facts and persistently encouraged her to deliver the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman after makes an attempt to boost The difficulty internally had been overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article inside the Each day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene stated that the NLC identified after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker inside the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the spouse as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, With all the NLC spending R470,000 on attorneys to represent it, but was located not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The prevalent factor in these articles or blog posts is usually that [they include] categorized facts concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the household house to go ahead and take warmth off her and his young children. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Business in an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the hurt some individuals suffered on the palms with the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, financial compensation are envisioned.

“Some individuals were really affected pretty negatively by this … This is really distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Everyday Maverick final calendar year.

“I fulfilled a number of these people. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their total lives are turned upside down,” claimed Scholtz.

Amongst Those people she met have been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at the 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 instances outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its conclusions.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it remains crucial that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its aim is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated from and by making certain an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without the need of currently being intimidated.”

It recommended the NLC create a “Secure channel” for employees to offer info on any “untoward exercise” that will not protect against or discourage workforce 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 mentioned
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor in the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The short article had elements of knowledge not accessible in the general public domain, therefore boosting problem on interior Details stability breaches. The allegations inside the media were being independently investigated,” Nene stated. “On the other hand, workers to blame for divulging categorised information have but being determined”;
A 28 January 2018 posting posted by the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations from the Limpopo Mirror article published on ten December 2017 and also a new allegation associated with a former staff because of the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the threat brought about on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report within the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, in spite of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been done. “The Lowvelder post contained categorized facts in terms of NLC policy, raising more worries of inside facts protection breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened facts safety dangers throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Most important Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it absolutely was determined by leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Access to Facts) ask for for specifics about the undertaking, she claimed