Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to analyze leaks

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Previous National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time mentioned media reports she stated had been determined by “stolen” data in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It observed the information wasn't a issue of state protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for the media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has considering that taken over the NLC and To this point have taken steps to finish corruption in the institution.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation uncovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered sufficient motive” for exposure through the media.

The probe into intended “details safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” conclusions and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the position of NLC employees from the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified certain media and reviews that she claimed involved these leaks.

During the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA told the NLC that while defending condition data was “a lawful imperative aimed toward guarding the sovereignty and integrity with the state” this only placed on appropriately categorized details.

Even though it did not say so straight, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked information and facts did not drop into this category.

Considerably, the SSA built it clear that the necessity to secure point out information and facts “won't avoid any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation found that the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not labeled when it comes to the prescripts in the Bare minimum Facts Protection Benchmarks (Pass up)”.

“The leakage of the relevant delicate official NLC details for the media doesn't pose a danger to nationwide safety,” the SSA said, incorporating that the impact with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no proof of a factual and incriminating character against any on the suspected NLC workers that would be identified from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.

In addition, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide ample motive to possess these kinds of exposed while in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein facts “stolen” through the NLC was sent into the US, wherever he claimed it was remaining marketed to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating comparable statements he experienced previously manufactured in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was careful not to name both.

“I came in this article Within this August property very last calendar year and reported to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one state in the usa,” he explained to MPs.

“We termed over the Condition Safety Company to come back investigate the make a difference simply because we've been receiving reviews that our information is making cash for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There's been communicate, needless to say from a person source, one particular media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs which the SSA investigation were done Nearly a yr earlier.

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

Following Nevhutanda first explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to research the meant breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a statement expressing that his remarks reflected “an especially dangerous Mind-set exactly where the media is staying blamed to the NLC’s inherent issues”.

“Instead of investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has in its place attempted to Solid question on the integrity with the journalists involved and has asked the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive assignments produced solution
Stability flaws recognized in the NLC grant funding process in the course of the SSA’s investigation, surface to are already made use of being an justification because of the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘top secret’ and tasks ended up removed from the grant funding method and maintained manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Workplace, Govt Supervisor Legal as a way to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of internal dialogue, with numerous back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in a very senior situation in the NLC at time, instructed GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to eliminate each of the proactive assignments through the method and Restrict entry to a handful of people today”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC various a long time back, is implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He obtained R4.3-million from lottery cash allotted to build a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he utilized to construct a household within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The property is among various paid out for with lottery resources that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation get 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 to high-ups from the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own view.

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

When a new administration, including the complete board and govt, took over in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” in the documentation relating to proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-primarily based. Essential paperwork have been missing. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was ready to Get well copies of some ผล หวย ลาว documents from its Mimecast email archiving method as well as the laptops in their assistants and aid team.

Information studies
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave worry feasible information and facts safety breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information received on account of carrying out official features within the Commission by NLC workforce. The actions are intended to undermine the integrity on the Fee when disrupting the effective functions [in the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational hurt into the Fee as being the custodian of non-public details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is presently going through a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to file the events which transpired regarding information safety breaches within the National Lotteries Commission”.

She outlined a variety of information experiences which she claimed were being the outcomes of these “breaches” (see at the end of this information).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her categorised NLC Facts and persistently encouraged her to offer the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman right after tries to raise The difficulty internally had been overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 report during the Everyday Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene claimed which the NLC discovered and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker while in the NLC’s East London Business, who was the partner and also the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 young 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 depict it, but was discovered not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The common Think about these content articles is usually that [they include] categorised details concerning proactive funding tasks,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the family members residence to go ahead and take warmth off her and his small children. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an office within an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a buddy.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the damage a number of people endured for the palms of the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economic payment are anticipated.

“Some men and women had been definitely impacted pretty negatively by this … This is actually agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Every day Maverick final calendar year.

“I met several these folks. It had been just so coronary heart-wrenching that their full life have been turned upside down,” stated Scholtz.

Amongst Individuals she met were Qhino and Makatse.

Secure System wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at enough time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.

“Failure to possess a dedicated anti-corruption channel will end in staff presenting this sort of cases beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its conclusions.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it remains important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its focus is on making certain that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated towards and by guaranteeing an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with out getting intimidated.”

It encouraged the NLC set up a “Risk-free channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward activity” that could not stop or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based on the Shielded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, can be a requirement.”

Media stories Nene detailed
A ten December 2017 report from 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 owner on the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The write-up experienced elements of information not available in the public area, thus increasing issue on internal Details stability breaches. The allegations inside the media have been independently investigated,” Nene explained. “On the other hand, employees to blame for divulging labeled data have but for being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up published because of the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations in the Limpopo Mirror short article published on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation relating to a former worker because of the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the danger triggered on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up inside the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC resources 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 data when it comes to NLC plan, raising even further considerations of interior info protection breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts stability risks within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Major Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it was based upon leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Facts) request for particulars regarding the project, she claimed