Lottery bosses turned to State Safety Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Safety Agency to research leaks

Blog Article

Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Condition Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at some time outlined media stories she claimed were being based on “stolen” information and facts in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It discovered the knowledge was not a make any difference of point out stability and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” to the media to expose it.
A fresh board and management has given that taken over the NLC and Up to now have taken steps to end corruption within the establishment.
A Condition Safety Company (SSA) investigation observed the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied enough motive” for exposure via the media.

The probe into intended “facts security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken immediately 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 at the moment suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to analyze the role of NLC workers during the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified distinct media and reviews that she claimed included these leaks.

During the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA informed the NLC that though defending point out facts was “a authorized crucial geared toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity of your condition” this only applied to properly classified facts.

Even though it didn't say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked data did not tumble into this category.

Appreciably, the SSA created it crystal clear that the necessity to safeguard condition info “will not reduce any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation identified that the NLC details involved with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not categorised with regard to the prescripts of your Least Information Safety Standards (Skip)”.

“The leakage with the appropriate delicate Formal NLC information and facts towards the media isn't going to pose a risk to national stability,” the SSA stated, incorporating which the effects with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no evidence of the factual and incriminating character in opposition to any with the suspected NLC workforce that would be identified from the data and info interrogated”.

It also mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply ample motive to possess these uncovered during the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where details “stolen” in the NLC was sent to your US, where he claimed it was currently being bought to fund a smear marketing campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating comparable claims he had Beforehand made in Parliament, which involved advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to call both.

“I arrived right here On this August property final calendar year and noted to honourable users that specifics of our beneficiaries has been stolen and place in a single state in the united states,” he explained to MPs.

“We known as to the Point out Protection Company to come check into the make any difference due to the fact we've been getting experiences that our facts is creating income for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There's been talk, of course from 1 resource, one particular media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but did not inform MPs which the SSA investigation had been accomplished Virtually a calendar year previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts with the looting of your lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant course of action. The NLC could alone discover a job to fund and appoint a non-profit organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda 1st advised Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a press release expressing that his remarks reflected “a particularly harmful Mindset exactly where the media is getting blamed to the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“As opposed to investigating why millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative made an effort to Solid question about the integrity on the journalists concerned and has requested the SSA to analyze their sources.”

Proactive tasks built key
Protection flaws identified while in the NLC grant funding method in the SSA’s investigation, look to are actually utilized as an excuse with the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants process.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘top secret’ and assignments have been removed from the grant funding system and maintained manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business office, Executive Manager Authorized to be able to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was plenty of interior discussion, with plenty of forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside of a senior position on the NLC at some time, informed GroundUp. “Ultimately, the decision was taken to remove all of the proactive tasks in the program and limit access to A few folks”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC several many years ago, is implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He received R4.three-million from lottery resources allocated to make a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he used to develop a residence within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The assets is one of numerous compensated for with lottery cash that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near higher-ups from the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their look at.

Also implicated are former board users William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has because died.

Any time a new administration, including the overall board and executive, took in excess of in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” within the documentation regarding proactive funding, much of which was paper-based mostly. Essential paperwork ended up missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage firm Metrofile were signed out and never returned.

The NLC was capable to Recuperate copies of some ตรวจ รางวัล documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving process and also the laptops of their assistants and assist workers.

News studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave issue possible info security breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private details attained due to undertaking official features within the Fee by NLC employees. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity from the Fee although disrupting the effective functions [in the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt on the Fee as the custodian of personal details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is presently going through a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her view.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to history the gatherings which transpired referring to information and facts safety breaches at the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She stated a variety of information reviews which she claimed were the results of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “furnished her categorised NLC Information and facts and persistently inspired her to supply the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman right after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally were being overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 post in the Day by day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene reported that the NLC determined after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff inside the NLC’s East London office, who was the lover and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three young children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Along with the NLC investing R470,000 on attorneys to characterize it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The prevalent Consider these articles or blog posts is always that [they entail] categorized details referring to proactive funding projects,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the household home to take the heat off her and his small children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Business office within an empty factory belonging to a buddy.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method intended to recognise the hurt a number of people experienced at the arms of your NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, financial payment are predicted.

“Some folks had been truly afflicted incredibly negatively by this … This is de facto unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Daily Maverick final year.

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

Amongst Those people she satisfied ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Safe System needed for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered 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 result in employees presenting this kind of conditions outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its conclusions.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it continues to be critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its target is on making sure that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without the need of being intimidated.”

It advised the NLC create a “Secure channel” for employees to deliver info on any “untoward action” that will not avoid or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, according to the Shielded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is actually a need.”

Media studies Nene listed
A ten December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor of the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The short article experienced components of knowledge not available in the public domain, thus boosting issue on interior Details safety breaches. The allegations within the media were independently investigated,” Nene stated. “Nonetheless, staff liable for divulging classified information and facts have still for being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 report published with the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations within the Limpopo Mirror article revealed on 10 December 2017 along with a new allegation regarding a previous staff from the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the menace triggered to your organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting within the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been accomplished. “The Lowvelder write-up contained classified information in terms of NLC plan, elevating additional concerns of inside info safety breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened data security challenges within 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 stated GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it absolutely was according to leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Info) request for particulars with regards to the job, she claimed