Lottery bosses turned to State Security Company to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Company to investigate leaks

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Former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at the time listed media stories she mentioned ended up based on “stolen” details in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It identified the information was not a issue of state safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for your media to reveal it.
A completely new board and administration has considering that taken about the NLC and Up to now have taken measures to finish corruption within the establishment.
A Point out Safety Company (SSA) investigation identified the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented ample motive” for publicity via the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “confidential” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to analyze the purpose of NLC team within the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified precise media and stories that she claimed included these leaks.

In the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that while preserving condition information and facts was “a legal crucial geared toward protecting the sovereignty and integrity with the condition” this only placed on properly categorised facts.

Even though it did not say so straight, the SSA conclusions implied that the allegedly leaked details did not slide into this group.

Significantly, the SSA created it obvious that the need to defend condition details “isn't going to avert any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation located that the NLC information linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, but not categorised concerning the prescripts on the Minimum Facts Safety Benchmarks (Skip)”.

“The leakage with the related sensitive Formal NLC information and facts for the media won't pose a danger to countrywide security,” the SSA stated, including the effect on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no evidence of a factual and incriminating nature against any of the suspected NLC employees that could be discovered from the knowledge and information interrogated”.

In addition, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer enough motive to get such exposed during 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 information “stolen” from your NLC was sent for the US, wherever he claimed it had been staying marketed to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating related statements he had Beforehand designed in Parliament, which involved advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was watchful not to name either.

“I arrived in this article in this August house final 12 months and claimed to honourable users that specifics of our beneficiaries is stolen and put in one condition in the usa,” he advised MPs.

“We termed within the Point out Security Agency to return look into the subject for the reason that we are receiving experiences that our details is creating dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There has been converse, certainly from a person resource, one media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not convey to MPs that the SSA investigation had been concluded Practically a year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant method. The NLC could itself recognize a task to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to supervise it.

After Nevhutanda very first informed Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to research the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement indicating that his remarks reflected “an especially unsafe Mind-set where by the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent problems”.

“In lieu of investigating why millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has rather tried to Forged question about the integrity of the journalists included and it has questioned the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive assignments built magic formula
Safety flaws determined during the NLC grant funding method through the SSA’s investigation, look to are used being an justification because of the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘solution’ and assignments had been faraway from the grant funding program and maintained manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Office, Government Supervisor Legal so as to safeguard [the] info,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was lots of inner dialogue, with many back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior place with the NLC at enough time, instructed GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to remove each of the proactive tasks in the method and Restrict entry to a handful of people today”.

Some in that handful of men and women had been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC quite a few several years ago, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He gained R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to build a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he employed to make a house in an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The residence is among various compensated for with lottery resources which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired a preservation purchase in December 2022.

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

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

Every time a new administration, such as the whole board and government, took about in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” in the documentation referring to proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-centered. Key files were lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was in the position to Get well copies of some ruay files from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving system and also the laptops of their assistants and assistance employees.

News experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave concern possible information protection breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts acquired on account of doing Formal features during the Commission by NLC staff members. The actions are intended to undermine the integrity from the Fee whilst disrupting the successful features [on the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational damage towards the Fee as being the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for that SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is presently experiencing a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to file the activities which transpired relating to information stability breaches with the National Lotteries Commission”.

She detailed numerous news reports which she claimed were being the final results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “provided her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally ended up dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting from the Day-to-day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene reported that the NLC determined and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel in the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the partner as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC investing R470,000 on lawyers to represent it, but was found not responsible and allowed to return to operate.

“The prevalent Consider these content articles is the fact that [they contain] labeled info concerning proactive funding assignments,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the loved ones dwelling to take the heat off her and his young children. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Place of work in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation process intended to recognise the hurt some individuals suffered at the arms of your NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, economical payment are anticipated.

“Some people were definitely influenced really negatively by this … This is basically distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Daily Maverick very last year.

“I fulfilled a few these persons. It was just so heart-wrenching that their complete life happen to be turned the wrong way up,” claimed Scholtz.

Among These she satisfied ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Harmless System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at the time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to your media.

“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will lead to employees presenting such conditions outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its conclusions.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it continues to be critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its target is on making sure that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated versus and by ensuring an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with out currently being intimidated.”

It encouraged which the NLC build a “safe channel” for employees to provide info on any “untoward exercise” that may not reduce or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based upon the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a need.”

Media stories Nene detailed
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner with the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report experienced components of knowledge not out there in the public domain, thereby elevating problem on inside Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations within the media had been independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Even so, staff members chargeable for divulging labeled facts have nevertheless to get recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 post published via the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations from your Limpopo Mirror article released on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation referring to a former staff from the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for the risk brought about to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up while in the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, in spite of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been done. “The Lowvelder posting contained categorised information and facts concerning NLC coverage, raising further fears of inside info stability breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened details protection dangers in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Main Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it had been dependant on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Usage of Information and facts) ask for for aspects about the project, she said

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