Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Condition Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at some time detailed media reports she explained were being dependant on “stolen” details in an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It found the information was not a make a difference of condition security and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for the media to expose it.
A brand new board and administration has since taken over the NLC and Up to now have taken actions to end corruption for the institution.
A Point out Safety Company (SSA) investigation located that 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 and facts safety breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “private” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the purpose of NLC staff members from the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized certain media and reviews that she claimed associated these leaks.

From the letter outlining its results, the SSA told the NLC that though shielding state information and facts was “a legal very important aimed toward protecting the sovereignty and integrity on the point out” this only applied to appropriately labeled information.

Although it did not say so right, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked information did not fall into this category.

Drastically, the SSA manufactured it crystal clear that the necessity to secure point out data “won't reduce any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located the NLC facts involved with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, although not categorized concerning the prescripts from the Minimum amount Details Safety Specifications (MISS)”.

“The leakage from the pertinent delicate official NLC information on the media doesn't pose a menace to nationwide safety,” the SSA reported, incorporating that the influence from the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of the factual and incriminating nature against any of your suspected NLC personnel that might be discovered from the data and information interrogated”.

In addition it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply ample motive to possess these types of uncovered within the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which information and facts “stolen” in the NLC was sent on the US, wherever he claimed it absolutely was remaining bought to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating identical promises he had Formerly produced in Parliament, which integrated advert hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to name either.

“I arrived right here Within this August house very last yr and claimed to honourable associates that specifics of our beneficiaries has become stolen and set in one condition in the usa,” he told MPs.

“We named on the State Safety Agency to come back check into the matter since we're receiving stories that our information and facts is building revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There have been converse, not surprisingly from just one supply, 1 media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not tell MPs the SSA investigation were accomplished Nearly a 12 months earlier.

Proactive funding was at the center of your looting from the lottery. It aspect-stepped the traditional grant procedure. The NLC could by itself detect a venture to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda first informed Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to investigate the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement declaring that his remarks reflected “a particularly harmful Mindset where the media is remaining blamed for that NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“As opposed to investigating why millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has rather made an effort to cast doubt over the integrity in the journalists associated and it has asked the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive jobs produced mystery
Protection flaws discovered in the NLC grant funding program over the SSA’s investigation, show up to have been used being an justification because of the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘solution’ and assignments had been faraway from the grant funding program and maintained manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business, Government Supervisor Lawful in an effort to safeguard [the] information,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inner discussion, with numerous forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior posture within the NLC at the time, instructed GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to get rid of all the proactive projects within the method and Restrict usage of a handful of people today”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC numerous decades ago, is implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He been given R4.three-million from lottery resources allocated to build a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he applied to build a household in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The property is one of various compensated for with lottery funds which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation purchase 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 high-ups within the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their own watch.

Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned immediately after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has because died.

When a new administration, including the whole board and govt, took around with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” in the documentation regarding proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-based. Essential paperwork ended up lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was able to recover copies of some สลาก กิน files from its Mimecast email archiving program plus the laptops in their assistants and guidance team.

Information experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave worry achievable details safety breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private facts acquired as a result of accomplishing official capabilities while in the Fee by NLC personnel. The actions are meant to undermine the integrity of the Commission when disrupting the successful features [of the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational damage into the Commission because the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is now facing a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to document the events which transpired concerning data security breaches within the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She outlined many news studies which she claimed were the outcome of such “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “delivered her classified NLC Info and persistently encouraged her to provide the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally ended up dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting while in the Everyday Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene mentioned which the NLC recognized and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker during the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the husband or wife as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC spending R470,000 on legal professionals to represent it, but was found not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The typical Think about these article content is usually that [they require] categorized information concerning proactive funding assignments,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your household home to take the warmth off her and his children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an office in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a colleague.

Both of those Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure intended to recognise the harm many people suffered on the fingers in the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, fiscal compensation are expected.

“Some individuals were being seriously influenced really negatively by this … This is really agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Daily Maverick very last year.

“I fulfilled a few these people today. It was just so heart-wrenching that their total life have already been turned the wrong way up,” said Scholtz.

Amongst People she achieved were being Qhino and Makatse.

Secure platform necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at enough time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn towards the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will bring about staff members presenting these scenarios outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its conclusions.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it continues to be critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its target is on making sure that illegal and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated against and by making certain an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without having staying intimidated.”

It recommended that the NLC establish a “Protected channel” for employees to supply information on any “untoward activity” that will not avoid or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually a prerequisite.”

Media studies Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor of your Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The short article had factors of data not accessible in the public domain, therefore boosting issue on internal Details protection breaches. The allegations during the media were being independently investigated,” Nene said. “Nonetheless, staff members accountable for divulging labeled information have but to get recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up printed from the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations within the Limpopo Mirror report printed on ten December 2017 as well as a new allegation relating to a former personnel through the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the danger triggered to the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 article within the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been accomplished. “The Lowvelder report contained labeled information and facts concerning NLC plan, raising additional worries of inside data safety breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened details security threats 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 explained GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it absolutely was depending on leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Use of Information and facts) ask for for details in regards to the job, she claimed

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