Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at time stated media reviews she stated had been determined by “stolen” information and facts in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It identified the information was not a matter of point out protection and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to reveal it.
A whole new board and management has due to the fact taken about the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption for the institution.
A State Protection Agency (SSA) investigation discovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for exposure via the media.

The probe into supposed “info protection breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken just 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 now suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “confidential” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the position of NLC staff from the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized certain media and reports that she claimed included these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA advised the NLC that whilst preserving state info was “a lawful imperative aimed at preserving the sovereignty and integrity with the point out” this only placed on appropriately classified data.

Although it did not say so immediately, the SSA results implied that the allegedly leaked info didn't slide into this class.

Drastically, the SSA created it distinct that the necessity to guard state details “isn't going to stop any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation found the NLC data associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, but not categorised regarding the prescripts of your Minimum Data Security Specifications (Overlook)”.

“The leakage of your related sensitive Formal NLC data towards the media won't pose a danger to countrywide stability,” the SSA mentioned, incorporating the impact of the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature versus any with the suspected NLC personnel that would be recognized from the knowledge and data interrogated”.

What's more, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present ample motive to obtain these types of exposed while in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, market and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which details “stolen” within the NLC was despatched into the US, exactly where he claimed it had been currently being offered to fund a smear campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent claims he experienced Formerly produced in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call either.

“I came in this article In this particular August house previous calendar year and documented to honourable customers that information about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in a single state in the usa,” he informed MPs.

“We identified as about the Condition Safety Company to return explore the make any difference since we've been finding reviews that our info is producing funds for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There's been converse, needless to say from a person resource, a person media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but failed to convey to MPs which the SSA investigation had been accomplished Virtually a calendar year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the center in the looting on the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant procedure. The NLC could alone identify a challenge to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to oversee it.

Following Nevhutanda first explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to research the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued a statement stating that his remarks reflected “a very unsafe Mind-set the place the media is currently being blamed for your NLC’s inherent problems”.

“As opposed to investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute attempted to cast doubt to the integrity on the journalists included and has questioned the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive initiatives manufactured magic formula
Protection flaws determined within the NLC grant funding program in the SSA’s investigation, appear to are already utilised as an justification from the NLC to remove all proactive-funded projects from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘mystery’ and assignments had been faraway from the grant funding technique and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Workplace, Government Supervisor Legal so that you can safeguard [the] details,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was plenty of inside discussion, with a great deal of forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside of a senior posture at the NLC at the time, informed GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive tasks from your process and limit usage of A few individuals”.

Some in that handful of people ended up implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC several decades in the past, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He gained R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to make a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he utilized to develop a home in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The property is among quite a few paid out for with lottery money that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near substantial-ups inside the ANC Management, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which confused the NLC on their watch.

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

Each time a new administration, such as the entire board and government, took more than with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” within the documentation regarding proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-primarily based. Crucial paperwork had been lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was capable of Get better copies of some cat888 documents from its Mimecast email archiving technique and the laptops of their assistants and aid workers.

Information stories
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave concern achievable facts protection breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private info received as a result of undertaking Formal functions from the Fee by NLC workers. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity with the Fee though disrupting the successful features [on the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt to the Fee as being the custodian of non-public data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at this time going through a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to file the gatherings which transpired regarding information and facts protection breaches on the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She mentioned several information reports which she claimed ended up the results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its workers, Sello Qhino, experienced “delivered her labeled NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to supply the data to GroundUp”.

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

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article from the Everyday Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene mentioned which the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff in the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the husband or wife and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few small children.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC shelling out R470,000 on lawyers to stand for it, but was located not responsible and allowed to return to operate.

“The widespread factor in these posts is usually that [they entail] categorised details concerning proactive funding assignments,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the household dwelling to take the heat off her and his young children. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an office within an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a pal.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the damage a number of people suffered for the fingers of your NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, monetary payment are expected.

“Some men and women had been definitely affected incredibly negatively by this … This is actually agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Everyday Maverick past year.

“I satisfied two or three these folks. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their complete lives are turned the other way up,” claimed Scholtz.

Among the Those people she achieved ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered the absence at some time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn towards the media.

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

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it continues to be essential that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentration is on making sure that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated versus and by making sure an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without being intimidated.”

It suggested that the NLC create a “Risk-free channel” for employees to deliver information on any “untoward exercise” that could not avoid or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is often a requirement.”

Media studies Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor with the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The posting experienced elements of data not accessible in the public area, therefore elevating problem on inner Details safety breaches. The allegations while in the media had been independently investigated,” Nene stated. “Nevertheless, workers responsible for divulging labeled details have however to generally be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 posting revealed via the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations within the Limpopo Mirror write-up released on ten December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a former employee from the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the danger caused towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article during the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been done. “The Lowvelder report contained classified facts with regards to NLC plan, raising even further issues of interior info protection breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened info safety threats throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it had been depending on leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Entry to Facts) request for details concerning the challenge, she explained