Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Agency to research leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the State Stability Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at some time detailed media reviews she reported had been according to “stolen” facts within an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did examine. It observed the data wasn't a make a difference of point out security and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for that media to expose it.
A brand new board and administration has considering that taken over the NLC and To date have taken actions to finish corruption at the institution.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation identified the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished enough motive” for exposure with the media.

The probe into intended “data safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out following 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 presently suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “private” conclusions and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the role of NLC staff members from the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered specific media and reports that she claimed concerned these leaks.

During the letter outlining its results, the SSA told the NLC that even though defending point out info was “a authorized very important aimed toward defending the sovereignty and integrity with the condition” this only applied to correctly categorised details.

Although it did not say so instantly, the SSA findings implied that the allegedly leaked data didn't tumble into this classification.

Substantially, the SSA designed it apparent that the necessity to secure state details “will not avert any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation uncovered which the NLC info associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, but not labeled with regard to the prescripts in the Minimum amount Data Stability Expectations (MISS)”.

“The leakage on the relevant sensitive Formal NLC info on the media would not pose a threat to national safety,” the SSA mentioned, incorporating the affect of your breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no proof of the factual and incriminating character in opposition to any in the suspected NLC personnel that can be recognized from the information and details interrogated”.

In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present sufficient motive to have these exposed from the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where info “stolen” through the NLC was despatched into the US, where he claimed it was getting offered to fund a smear campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent claims he experienced Beforehand manufactured in Parliament, which involved advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was mindful not to name either.

“I arrived in this article During this August dwelling past 12 months and documented to honourable members that information about our beneficiaries has long been stolen and place in one condition in America,” he instructed MPs.

“We referred to as on the Condition Security Agency to return consider the make any difference since we have been acquiring studies that our details is making money for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There has been speak, naturally from a single source, a single media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs which the SSA investigation had been done Practically a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the heart of the looting of your lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant system. The NLC could by itself establish a project to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to oversee it.

Just after Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement indicating that his remarks mirrored “an extremely hazardous Frame of mind wherever the media is remaining blamed for the NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“Instead of investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute made an effort to Solid question within the integrity in the journalists involved and it has asked the SSA to analyze their sources.”

Proactive initiatives produced solution
Stability flaws identified while in the NLC grant funding procedure throughout the SSA’s investigation, show up to are actually used as an justification by the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘mystery’ and tasks had been faraway from the grant funding technique and taken care of manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Place of work, Govt Manager Authorized to be able to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inner dialogue, with lots of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in the senior position for the NLC at the time, instructed GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to get rid of all the proactive assignments from the program and Restrict use of A few people”.

Some in that handful of people had been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC various decades back, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He gained R4.3-million from lottery funds allotted to make a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he employed to construct a house within an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The assets is one of quite a few paid out for with lottery resources that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired a preservation get 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 close to substantial-ups during the ANC leadership, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which confused the NLC on their own watch.

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

When a new administration, such as the overall board and government, took above in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” in the documentation concerning proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-based mostly. Key paperwork were missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was able to Recuperate copies of some ruay paperwork from its Mimecast email archiving process along with the laptops in their assistants and help staff.

News stories
In his 1 December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave concern attainable information and facts security breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information and facts obtained as a result of executing official functions inside the Commission by NLC workers. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity of the Fee when disrupting the productive features [from the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational hurt on the Commission as being the custodian of non-public information entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is presently experiencing a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her view.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to record the activities which transpired regarding information and facts stability breaches for the National Lotteries Commission”.

She outlined a variety of news stories which she claimed had been the effects of these “breaches” (see at the end of this informative article).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “provided her labeled NLC Info and persistently encouraged her to offer the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman right after attempts to raise the issue internally were being overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 post inside the Daily Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene claimed that the NLC discovered and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee from the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the lover as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, with the NLC investing R470,000 on lawyers to symbolize it, but was identified not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The popular Think about these article content is the fact that [they contain] classified information relating to proactive funding projects,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the loved ones home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an office in an empty factory belonging to an acquaintance.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process meant to recognise the hurt a number of people experienced in the fingers on the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, financial compensation are expected.

“Some folks had been actually impacted really negatively by this … This is absolutely painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Daily Maverick past calendar year.

“I satisfied a couple of these persons. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their whole life have been turned upside down,” claimed Scholtz.

Among the These she satisfied have been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound System wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at some time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a dedicated anti-corruption channel will bring about workforce presenting these types of scenarios outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its conclusions.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it continues to be critical that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its concentrate is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated from and by ensuring an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without getting intimidated.”

It encouraged which the NLC build a “Harmless channel” for workers to deliver info on any “untoward exercise” that could not reduce or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, dependant on the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is actually a requirement.”

Media experiences Nene shown
A 10 December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor of the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The short article had factors of data not accessible in the public domain, therefore increasing issue on interior Info safety breaches. The allegations while in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene reported. “However, workers answerable for divulging categorized details have however to become discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 short article revealed from the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations with the Limpopo Mirror write-up posted on 10 December 2017 in addition to a new allegation associated with a previous employee with the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your menace prompted for the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 report during the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Despite receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been accomplished. “The Lowvelder post contained categorised data with regards to NLC plan, elevating further worries of internal data stability breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts security dangers inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it absolutely was dependant on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information) ask for for facts with regards to the task, she mentioned

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