Lottery bosses turned to State Security Company to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Company to research leaks

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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at some time outlined media stories she stated ended up determined by “stolen” information in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It uncovered the information was not a make a difference of state safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” to the media to reveal it.
A different board and administration has considering the fact that taken more than the NLC and thus far have taken actions to end corruption on the institution.
A Point out Safety Agency (SSA) investigation found the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered ample motive” for exposure from the media.

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

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “private” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to investigate the role of NLC team from the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit determined unique media and stories that she claimed concerned these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that when defending point out information was “a legal essential aimed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity in the condition” this only placed on properly categorized details.

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

Substantially, the SSA created it clear that the need to shield state info “won't reduce any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation discovered that the NLC data linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not labeled with regards to the prescripts in the Least Data Safety Standards (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage from the suitable delicate official NLC information on the media does not pose a threat to national safety,” the SSA explained, adding the influence with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no proof of the factual and incriminating mother nature against any from the suspected NLC workers that can be identified from the data and details interrogated”.

It also mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer sufficient motive to get these kinds of uncovered while in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which data “stolen” within the NLC was despatched for the US, the place he claimed it had been becoming sold to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent claims he experienced Formerly built in Parliament, which involved ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call either.

“I came in this article In this particular August home very last calendar year and noted to honourable customers that specifics of our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and put in one state in America,” he told MPs.

“We referred to as to the State Protection Company to come back check into the matter because we've been receiving studies that our details is generating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There's been communicate, naturally from 1 supply, one media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs which the SSA investigation had been finished Practically a 12 months before.

Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting in the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant procedure. The NLC could itself determine a venture to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to oversee it.

Following Nevhutanda initial told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued a press release declaring that his remarks mirrored “an especially harmful Angle where by the media is currently being blamed for that NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“As opposed to investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has instead attempted to Solid doubt to the integrity in the journalists associated and has asked the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive projects manufactured solution
Security flaws identified inside the NLC grant funding method through the SSA’s investigation, seem to have already been employed being an excuse because of the NLC to remove all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and initiatives were being removed from the grant funding method and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Workplace, Government Manager Authorized in an effort to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was loads of interior dialogue, with a lot of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a very senior posture on the NLC at the time, advised GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to eliminate every one of the proactive jobs within the system and Restrict usage of A few persons”.

Some in that handful of men and women have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC quite a few decades in the past, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He obtained R4.three-million from lottery funds allotted to make a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he applied to construct a property in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The house is one of numerous paid out for with lottery money that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near significant-ups in the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own look at.

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

Whenever a new administration, including the complete board and government, took over with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” from the documentation concerning proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-dependent. Critical paperwork had been lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was ready to Recuperate copies of some หวย วัน นี้ files from its Mimecast e mail archiving program and also the laptops in their assistants and help employees.

Information reports
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave problem possible information safety breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private facts obtained because of performing official capabilities while in the Fee by NLC staff. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity of the Commission even though disrupting the productive features [on the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational hurt to your Commission as the custodian of private facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for your SSA to investigate was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at this time experiencing a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to history the activities which transpired concerning info safety breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She shown several information studies which she claimed have been the outcome of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her categorised NLC Details and persistently inspired her to provide the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman right after makes an attempt to lift the issue internally have been disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 post while in the Day by day Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene explained the NLC recognized and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel while in the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the lover plus the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to symbolize it, but was uncovered not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The common factor in these content is the fact that [they entail] categorised information referring to proactive funding assignments,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the spouse and children home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a buddy.

Each Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the hurt a lot of people suffered for the hands with the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, money payment are anticipated.

“Some persons were genuinely influenced very negatively by this … This is absolutely agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Daily Maverick last year.

“I met a few these folks. It was just so heart-wrenching that their full life are turned the wrong way up,” stated Scholtz.

Among Those people she fulfilled had been Qhino and Makatse.

Secure System necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at enough time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to the media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in personnel presenting such situations beyond the NLC,” the SSA said in its findings.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it stays important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its concentration is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated against and by making sure an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with no getting intimidated.”

It suggested which the NLC create a “Secure channel” for workers to supply info on any “untoward activity” that could not avoid or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, dependant on the Safeguarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a prerequisite.”

Media experiences Nene listed
A 10 December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The article experienced things of knowledge not offered in the public domain, therefore raising problem on inner Facts protection breaches. The allegations in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Having said that, workers liable for divulging classified information and facts have nevertheless to be determined”;
A 28 January 2018 post released from the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from the Limpopo Mirror write-up released on ten December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a former worker through the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the danger prompted towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting in the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been accomplished. “The Lowvelder article contained labeled info concerning NLC policy, increasing further considerations of interior info safety breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened details safety hazards in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Major Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it had been based upon leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Information) ask for for facts about the challenge, she explained