Lottery bosses turned to Point out Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at enough time outlined media experiences she explained were based on “stolen” data within an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It observed the data wasn't a make a difference of condition safety and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for that media to reveal it.
A completely new board and administration has because taken more than the NLC and So far have taken measures to finish corruption with the institution.
A Point out Security Company (SSA) investigation uncovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished ample motive” for exposure by the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the part of NLC employees in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered specific media and reviews that she claimed associated these leaks.

From the letter outlining its results, the SSA instructed the NLC that although defending state details was “a authorized vital directed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity in the state” this only placed on correctly categorised information and facts.

Even though it did not say so immediately, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked info did not slide into this classification.

Substantially, the SSA built it distinct that the need to defend condition facts “would not prevent any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation discovered that the NLC information linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, although not labeled concerning the prescripts with the Bare minimum Info Stability Expectations (Skip)”.

“The leakage of your pertinent delicate Formal NLC data to the media isn't going to pose a danger to national safety,” the SSA claimed, adding that the effect on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no proof of the factual and incriminating mother nature versus any of the suspected NLC workers that might be recognized from the information and information interrogated”.

In addition, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present sufficient motive to possess such uncovered within the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which facts “stolen” in the NLC was sent on the US, where he claimed it was getting marketed to fund a smear marketing campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating similar promises he experienced Beforehand built in Parliament, which bundled advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was cautious not to call both.

“I came right here Within this August house past 12 months and noted to honourable users that information regarding our beneficiaries is stolen and set in one point out in America,” he instructed MPs.

“We known as to the State Safety Company to return consider the subject because we're receiving experiences that our information is producing funds for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There was chat, not surprisingly from just one supply, one particular media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but failed to convey to MPs the SSA investigation had been done Practically a year previously.

Proactive funding was at the heart of the looting from the lottery. It side-stepped the traditional grant process. The NLC could itself establish a project to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to supervise it.

Soon after Nevhutanda initial told Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued an announcement saying that his remarks mirrored “a particularly harmful Mindset in which the media is staying blamed to the NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“As an alternative to investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute attempted to Forged doubt to the integrity in the journalists concerned and has requested the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive initiatives produced mystery
Stability flaws recognized within the NLC grant funding system throughout the SSA’s investigation, show up to are already used as an justification by the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants process.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘top secret’ and tasks ended up faraway from the grant funding program and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Workplace, Government Manager Lawful in an effort to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of internal dialogue, with a lot of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was in a senior situation in the NLC at enough time, told GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to eliminate many of the proactive tasks with the method and Restrict use of a handful of folks”.

Some in that handful of people were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC many many years back, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery money allotted to build a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to make a residence in an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The property is among several paid for with lottery funds that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device attained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to large-ups inside the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which confused the NLC on their watch.

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

Each time a new administration, such as the whole board and government, took around on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” within the documentation associated with proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-based. Important documents had been missing. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage company Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was ready to Get well copies of some cat888 paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving procedure and the laptops of their assistants and support employees.

Information 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 and facts protection breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts acquired as a result of undertaking official features in the Commission by NLC employees. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity in the Fee though disrupting the efficient features [of your NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational harm on the Fee as being the custodian of private information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at this time experiencing a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to record the situations which transpired regarding details stability breaches on the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She shown various news studies which she claimed were being the outcomes of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its employees, Sello Qhino, experienced “provided her classified NLC Info and persistently encouraged her to deliver the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman after tries to boost the issue internally were being dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article inside the Daily Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene said which the NLC discovered and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee during the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the associate and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC paying R470,000 on legal professionals to represent it, but was identified not responsible and permitted to return to operate.

“The frequent Consider these posts is the fact [they contain] categorised facts regarding proactive funding initiatives,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the family dwelling to take the warmth off her and his small children. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an vacant factory belonging to an acquaintance.

The two Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process intended to recognise the harm a number of people experienced within the arms of the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economic compensation are anticipated.

“Some men and women had been genuinely affected quite negatively by this … This is really agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Every day Maverick final yr.

“I fulfilled several these men and women. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their complete life are turned upside down,” claimed Scholtz.

Among Individuals she achieved were Qhino and Makatse.

Protected platform essential 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 workers presenting this kind of cases beyond the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its conclusions.

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it remains important 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 without getting intimidated.”

It encouraged which the NLC build a “safe channel” for workers to deliver info on any “untoward action” that might not avert or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, determined by the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is usually a prerequisite.”

Media studies Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator in the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The post had features of information not offered in the general public area, thus raising concern on inner Data protection breaches. The allegations during the media were independently investigated,” Nene stated. “Nonetheless, staff to blame for divulging labeled data have but for being identified”;
A 28 January 2018 posting revealed through 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 staff through the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for the risk brought about to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up from the Lowvelder concerning 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 facts with regard to NLC coverage, raising further more problems of inner information protection breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened information safety challenges within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp had confirmed in its story that it was depending on leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Details) request for particulars regarding the undertaking, she mentioned

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