Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Former Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the State Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at some time listed media studies she said had been depending on “stolen” information within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the information wasn't a issue of condition protection and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” to the media to reveal it.
A different board and administration has considering the fact that taken above the NLC and thus far have taken measures to end corruption on the institution.
A State Security Company (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished sufficient motive” for publicity via the media.

The probe into meant “facts protection breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “private” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the position of NLC workers inside the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered certain media and reports that she claimed included these leaks.

In the letter outlining its results, the SSA instructed the NLC that although guarding condition information was “a lawful crucial directed at defending the sovereignty and integrity in the condition” this only applied to properly classified information and facts.

Although it did not say so straight, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked facts did not slide into this group.

Drastically, the SSA built it crystal clear that the necessity to guard point out details “isn't going to protect against any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation identified that the NLC details involved in the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not classified regarding the prescripts from the Minimum Data Protection Specifications (Overlook)”.

“The leakage with the appropriate delicate official NLC information and facts to the media does not pose a threat to nationwide security,” the SSA mentioned, introducing the impression of your breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no evidence of the factual and incriminating character from any of the suspected NLC workers that might be recognized from the knowledge and info interrogated”.

Furthermore, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give ample motive to get such exposed while in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which info “stolen” from the NLC was sent on the US, where he claimed it absolutely was remaining sold to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating comparable promises he had Earlier created in Parliament, which provided advert hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call possibly.

“I came right here On this August household past calendar year and claimed to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and set in one state in the united states,” he instructed MPs.

“We termed within the State Protection Agency to come back investigate the make any difference for the reason that we've been having stories that our information is building dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There's been communicate, of course from a person resource, one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs the SSA investigation had been concluded almost a year before.

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

Following Nevhutanda very first informed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement stating that his remarks mirrored “an especially harmful attitude wherever the media is becoming blamed to the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“As opposed to investigating why thousands and thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has rather attempted to Solid doubt on the integrity from the journalists concerned and it has asked the SSA to analyze their sources.”

Proactive tasks designed key
Stability flaws discovered from the NLC grant funding method during the SSA’s investigation, surface to are used as an excuse with the NLC to remove all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘solution’ and projects were removed from the grant funding program and taken care of manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Office, Govt Supervisor Lawful as a way to safeguard [the] details,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was loads of inner dialogue, with a great deal of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior posture with the NLC at time, explained to GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to remove many of the proactive tasks from the technique and Restrict usage of A few men and women”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC several years ago, is implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He received R4.three-million from lottery cash allocated to construct a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he applied to develop a property within an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The house is one of several paid out for with lottery resources that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to large-ups from the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their enjoy.

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

Each time a new administration, including the full board and government, took over on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” from the documentation relating to proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-centered. Important documents ended up missing. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was ready to Get better copies of some luckyvip77 documents from its Mimecast email archiving technique as well as laptops in their assistants and help staff members.

News studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave concern feasible data safety breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts received as a result of accomplishing official capabilities inside the Fee by NLC staff. The actions are meant to undermine the integrity of the Commission even though disrupting the effective features [with the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational damage on the Commission since the custodian of non-public data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at present going through a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to history the functions which transpired concerning info security breaches within the National Lotteries Fee”.

She detailed a variety of information reports which she claimed ended up the outcomes of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).

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

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a number of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman after attempts to lift The difficulty internally were being disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article inside the Everyday Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene mentioned which the NLC recognized after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker while in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the lover along with the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Along with the NLC expending R470,000 on legal professionals to depict it, but was located not guilty and allowed to return to work.

“The common factor in these content articles is always that [they entail] categorized info relating to proactive funding jobs,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the family members dwelling to take the warmth off her and his youngsters. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Business office within an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a friend.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation procedure intended to recognise the damage many people endured with the palms on the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, monetary compensation are expected.

“Some folks were really affected very negatively by this … This is actually agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Daily Maverick final 12 months.

“I achieved a number of these persons. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their full life have already been turned the wrong way up,” reported Scholtz.

Among the those she met have been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound System wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at the time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will end in personnel presenting these scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA reported in its results.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it stays vital that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its aim is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated versus and by ensuring an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without having remaining intimidated.”

It recommended that the NLC set up a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to offer info on any “untoward action” that might not reduce or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, determined by the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, can be a necessity.”

Media reports Nene listed
A 10 December 2017 report in 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 of your Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The short article experienced components of information not available in the general public area, thereby raising concern on internal Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations inside the media have been independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Having said that, workforce accountable for divulging categorized info have however to be discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 short article released through the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations from the Limpopo Mirror report printed on ten December 2017 and also a new allegation relating to a former employee with the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for that menace caused on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 report during the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Regardless of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been completed. “The Lowvelder article contained classified information and facts concerning NLC coverage, raising further more problems of inner information stability breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened data stability dangers inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had confirmed in its story that it absolutely was according to leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Information and facts) ask for for information about the project, she said