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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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 exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time mentioned media reports she stated had been determined by “stolen” facts in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It observed the information wasn't a subject of state protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has considering that taken over the NLC and To this point have taken steps to finish corruption on the institution.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation found that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented sufficient motive” for publicity because of the media.

The probe into meant “information and facts stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken soon after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “private” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to research the purpose of NLC staff within the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered precise media and experiences that she claimed included these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA advised the NLC that whilst protecting point out info was “a authorized imperative targeted at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of your point out” this only placed on appropriately classified information.

Although it didn't say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked info did not tumble into this class.

Drastically, the SSA built it apparent that the necessity to protect condition info “would not avoid any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation discovered the NLC information and facts associated with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not categorised with regards to the prescripts with the Minimum amount Information Security Specifications (Skip)”.

“The leakage in the appropriate sensitive official NLC information to the media would not pose a menace to nationwide security,” the SSA reported, incorporating that the impression in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of a factual and incriminating character against any with the suspected NLC workers which could be recognized from the knowledge and data interrogated”.

What's more, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply sufficient motive to acquire such exposed within the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where facts “stolen” with the NLC was sent to the US, where by he claimed it had been becoming bought to fund a smear campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent promises he had Earlier made in Parliament, which provided advert hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call possibly.

“I came listed here During this August home previous 12 months and described to honourable users that information about our beneficiaries continues to be 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 make a difference simply because we've been acquiring reports that our information and facts is creating cash for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There's been communicate, naturally from one source, just one media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but did not convey to MPs which the SSA investigation were completed Virtually a yr previously.

Proactive funding was at the center in the looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the normal grant procedure. The NLC could itself identify a challenge to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to supervise it.

Soon after Nevhutanda very first told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a statement indicating that his remarks reflected “a very harmful Angle in which the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Rather than investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute made an effort to cast doubt about the integrity from the journalists concerned and has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive initiatives manufactured secret
Stability flaws discovered during the NLC grant funding technique throughout the SSA’s investigation, seem to are already employed being an justification because of the NLC to remove all proactive-funded tasks 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 being removed from the grant funding method and managed manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Place of work, Government Supervisor Lawful in order to safeguard [the] details,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inside discussion, with plenty of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a senior place with the NLC at some time, told GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to eliminate all the proactive projects in the procedure and Restrict use of a handful of folks”.

Some in that handful of people ended up implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC quite a few yrs in the past, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He gained R4.three-million from lottery cash allocated to develop a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to make a dwelling within an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The home is among various paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained 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 leadership, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own watch.

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 since died.

Whenever a new administration, including the whole board and executive, took over at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation concerning proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-centered. Essential documents ended up missing. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was capable of Get better copies of some ผล หวย documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving process along with the laptops of their assistants and guidance personnel.

Information studies
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave concern doable info protection breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential details received on account of carrying out official functions inside the Commission by NLC personnel. The functions are meant to undermine the integrity on the Commission although disrupting the powerful features [from the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational hurt into the Commission because the custodian of private facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request with the SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently experiencing a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to report the events which transpired associated with facts protection breaches within the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She mentioned various information experiences which she claimed were being the effects of those “breaches” (see at the end of this post).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its workers, Sello Qhino, experienced “offered her classified NLC Facts and persistently encouraged her to offer the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman just after attempts to boost The difficulty internally were dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 posting within the Day-to-day Dispatch with regard to 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 Business office, who was the associate as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few young children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC paying R470,000 on legal professionals to symbolize it, but was uncovered not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The frequent Consider these content articles is always that [they entail] categorized info relating to proactive funding projects,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the household residence to go ahead and take heat off her and his small children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Workplace within an vacant factory belonging to a colleague.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation course of action meant to recognise the harm a number of people experienced at the fingers on the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, economical payment are envisioned.

“Some people today had been actually influenced quite negatively by this … This is really agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Day-to-day Maverick past calendar year.

“I met a number of these persons. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their total lives are already turned the wrong way up,” explained Scholtz.

Amid All those she satisfied had been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at the time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn for the media.

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

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it remains critical that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentration is on making sure that unlawful and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated from and by guaranteeing an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out devoid of staying intimidated.”

It encouraged the NLC establish a “safe channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward activity” that may not reduce or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, according to the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is often a requirement.”

Media stories Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner in the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The short article experienced things of information not readily available in the general public area, therefore elevating problem on internal Info security breaches. The allegations in the media were being independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Having said that, workforce responsible for divulging labeled info have yet being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 posting revealed via the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations with the Limpopo Mirror article printed on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation concerning a previous staff by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the danger brought about to your 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 report contained classified facts concerning NLC coverage, raising further more considerations of inside info safety breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts security dangers inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it had been depending on leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Facts) request for aspects with regard to the task, she stated