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 National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Condition Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time mentioned media studies she claimed were being determined by “stolen” data in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the data wasn't a issue of state safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has considering the fact that taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption on the establishment.
A Point out Safety Company (SSA) investigation discovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered ample motive” for publicity by the media.

The probe into intended “details security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote towards the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “confidential” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the position of NLC staff members during the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized unique media and reviews that she claimed involved these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA instructed the NLC that even though guarding state information was “a legal very important targeted at defending the sovereignty and integrity of your condition” this only placed on properly categorised details.

Even though it didn't say so directly, the SSA findings implied that the allegedly leaked details didn't fall into this class.

Considerably, the SSA manufactured it clear that the need to defend condition information “doesn't avoid any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation observed which the NLC facts associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not labeled regarding the prescripts in the Minimum amount Info Protection Standards (Overlook)”.

“The leakage on the appropriate sensitive official NLC data to your media does not pose a danger to countrywide stability,” the SSA claimed, incorporating the affect in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no proof of the factual and incriminating nature versus any in the suspected NLC workers that could be determined from the data and info interrogated”.

Additionally, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present ample motive to acquire this sort of uncovered within the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which info “stolen” from your NLC was sent into the US, where by he claimed it had been getting offered to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating related statements he experienced previously built in Parliament, which involved ad hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to name either.

“I arrived here With this August home very last calendar year and reported to honourable associates that information regarding our beneficiaries has long been stolen and put in one point out in the usa,” he told MPs.

“We known as around the State Security Agency to return look into the make any difference for the reason that we have been receiving studies that our info is generating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There has been converse, needless to say from one source, just one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs which the SSA investigation had been accomplished Pretty much a year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant system. The NLC could itself determine a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to oversee it.

Immediately after Nevhutanda to start with explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement expressing that his remarks mirrored “an incredibly dangerous Mindset in which the media is getting blamed for your NLC’s inherent problems”.

“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative attempted to Forged question about the integrity in the journalists included and it has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive projects made top secret
Protection flaws recognized inside the NLC grant funding procedure in the course of the SSA’s investigation, show up to happen to be used as an justification because of the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded projects from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and jobs have been faraway from the grant funding program and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business office, Government Manager Authorized so as to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of interior dialogue, with a great deal of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in the senior placement in the NLC at some time, instructed GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to remove many of the proactive assignments in the process and limit entry to A few individuals”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC various many years ago, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He been given R4.three-million from lottery resources allotted 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 house is one of quite a few paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Device acquired a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near substantial-ups within the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their look at.

Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned right after he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has due to the fact died.

Any time a new administration, such as the full board and govt, took about for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” from the documentation regarding proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-based mostly. Important files have been missing. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was capable to recover copies of some หวย หุ้น documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving procedure and also the laptops of their assistants and help personnel.

Information stories
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave worry attainable data protection breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information attained due to doing official features inside the Fee by NLC personnel. The routines are meant to undermine the integrity in the Fee whilst disrupting the productive functions [on the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational damage to your Fee because the custodian of non-public information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for the SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at this time struggling with a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her view.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to history the situations which transpired regarding data security breaches within the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She shown numerous information reviews which she claimed ended up the outcomes of such “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its workers, Sello Qhino, had “presented her categorised NLC Information and persistently encouraged her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman right after makes an attempt to raise the issue internally were being disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 report inside the Everyday Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene reported the NLC discovered and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker in the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the spouse as well as mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, With all the NLC paying out R470,000 on legal professionals to represent it, but was discovered not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The popular Think about these articles is the fact that [they involve] categorised information and facts concerning proactive funding initiatives,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your spouse and children property to take the heat off her and his youngsters. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Place of work within an vacant factory belonging to a pal.

Equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation course of action meant to recognise the damage some individuals experienced at the arms of the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, money compensation are envisioned.

“Some persons had been definitely impacted very negatively by this … This is really unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Everyday Maverick final 12 months.

“I met two or three these persons. It was just so heart-wrenching that their complete life are actually turned upside down,” explained Scholtz.

Between those she met had been Qhino and Makatse.

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

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to workers presenting this sort of instances outside of the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its findings.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it remains very important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its target is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by guaranteeing an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with out getting intimidated.”

It encouraged which the NLC set up a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to offer information on any “untoward exercise” that may not prevent or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, according to the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is actually a need.”

Media studies Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner with the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The write-up experienced components of knowledge not readily available in the general public area, thus boosting issue on inside Facts protection breaches. The allegations from the media have been independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Even so, personnel to blame for divulging categorized information have still to become discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 post released through the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from your Limpopo Mirror short article posted on 10 December 2017 as well as a new allegation associated with a previous personnel because of the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the menace brought about to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up within the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, Despite getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder write-up contained categorised data when it comes to NLC plan, raising even further issues of inside information security breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts stability threats within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it was according to leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Entry to Details) ask for for facts with regard to the job, she mentioned