Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

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Former Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at the time outlined media reviews she mentioned had been determined by “stolen” data in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the information wasn't a make a difference of point out safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to expose it.
A completely new board and management has since taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken measures to end corruption for the establishment.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation identified the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished enough motive” for publicity because of the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at this time suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to research the function of NLC team while in the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized unique media and reviews that she claimed included these leaks.

In the letter outlining its findings, the SSA advised the NLC that though shielding condition information and facts was “a authorized imperative targeted at defending the sovereignty and integrity with the point out” this only placed on properly classified info.

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

Drastically, the SSA produced it apparent that the necessity to shield point out information and facts “would not stop any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation discovered that the NLC facts linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, but not categorised in terms of the prescripts of the Minimum amount Details Protection Standards (Pass up)”.

“The leakage of the relevant delicate official NLC details for the media doesn't pose a danger to nationwide security,” the SSA reported, incorporating that the impression in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no proof of the factual and incriminating nature from any from the suspected NLC workforce that might be discovered from the data and info interrogated”.

It also stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give enough motive to obtain such exposed in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which info “stolen” from the NLC was despatched towards the US, where he claimed it had been becoming marketed to fund a smear campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating comparable statements he experienced previously manufactured in Parliament, which included ad hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to name either.

“I came listed here With this August house final yr and documented to honourable associates that information regarding our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and place in one state in America,” he explained to MPs.

“We called over the Condition Safety Company to come back explore the make a difference because we have been acquiring experiences that our facts is producing dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There have been discuss, certainly from a single supply, a person media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation had been completed Nearly a yr earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart from the looting from the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could by itself discover a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to supervise it.

Immediately after Nevhutanda 1st informed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement indicating that his remarks reflected “a very harmful Mind-set exactly where the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“Rather then investigating why millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative tried to cast question on the integrity of the journalists involved and it has requested the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive jobs made key
Safety flaws determined while in the NLC grant funding process in the SSA’s investigation, surface to are actually made use of being an excuse because of the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘secret’ and initiatives were faraway from the grant funding system and taken care of manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Workplace, Government Manager Lawful in order to safeguard [the] info,” Nene said in her affidavit.

“There was lots of internal discussion, with many backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was within a senior situation at the NLC at enough time, explained to GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to get rid of the many proactive assignments from your program and limit usage of a handful of people today”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC numerous decades in the past, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.3-million from lottery resources allotted to build a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he applied to construct a property in an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The home is among quite a few paid out for with lottery money which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to higher-ups during the ANC leadership, former 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 check out.

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 has given that died.

Every time a new administration, such as the overall board and govt, took about within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation relating to proactive funding, much of which was paper-centered. Critical paperwork had been lacking. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage firm Metrofile had been signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was in the position to recover copies of some หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 files from its Mimecast e mail archiving technique along with the laptops of their assistants and aid staff members.

News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave issue attainable info protection breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information acquired due to performing official functions while in the Fee by NLC workforce. The actions are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission although disrupting the powerful features [in the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational harm towards the Fee given that the custodian of non-public details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at the moment dealing with a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to history the occasions which transpired regarding information security breaches on the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She shown many information experiences which she claimed were being the results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this information).

Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “provided her labeled NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to offer the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman right after tries to raise The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting within the Day-to-day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene mentioned the NLC determined after which you can suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the companion as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, While using the NLC paying out R470,000 on lawyers to stand for it, but was identified not guilty and allowed to return to work.

“The widespread Consider these articles or blog posts is the fact [they require] labeled facts regarding proactive funding assignments,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the family dwelling to take the warmth off her and his young children. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an vacant factory belonging to a colleague.

Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system intended to recognise the damage some people suffered with the palms of your NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economic compensation are anticipated.

“Some persons ended up definitely afflicted pretty negatively by this … This is really distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day-to-day Maverick previous year.

“I achieved a handful of these men and women. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their entire life are already turned upside down,” claimed Scholtz.

Amongst All those she met ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Secure platform desired for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered the absence at enough time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show towards the media.

“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will end in workforce presenting such circumstances outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its findings.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it stays critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its emphasis is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated from and by making certain an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with out remaining intimidated.”

It advised which the NLC establish a “Risk-free channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward action” that would not avoid or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, according to the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a necessity.”

Media studies Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner on the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The write-up experienced things of information not offered in the public area, thereby boosting problem on internal Details safety breaches. The allegations in the media were independently investigated,” Nene reported. “On the other hand, workers to blame for divulging categorized information and facts have still to be determined”;
A 28 January 2018 article revealed by the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations in the Limpopo Mirror posting printed on 10 December 2017 along with a new allegation relating to a former worker with the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the risk caused towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article in the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, in spite of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder posting contained labeled information and facts regarding NLC policy, boosting even further concerns of internal facts stability breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened details security risks inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Primary Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it had been determined by leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Entry to Information) ask for for particulars concerning the project, she claimed