Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

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Previous Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at the time stated media studies she explained have been based on “stolen” details in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It discovered the knowledge was not a matter of state security and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” with the media to expose it.
A brand new board and management has considering the fact that taken over the NLC and thus far have taken measures to end corruption in the institution.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered enough motive” for publicity by the media.

The probe into meant “info stability breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote towards the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “private” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to research the function of NLC workers inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined particular media and experiences that she claimed included these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA advised the NLC that though safeguarding condition information and facts was “a authorized crucial aimed toward defending the sovereignty and integrity on the state” this only placed on correctly categorized information and facts.

Although it did not say so straight, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked facts didn't slide into this group.

Drastically, the SSA manufactured it very clear that the necessity to safeguard point out details “isn't going to prevent any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation uncovered that the NLC information and facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not labeled regarding the prescripts of your Bare minimum Details Protection Criteria (Pass up)”.

“The leakage from the pertinent delicate official NLC info on the media would not pose a menace to countrywide safety,” the SSA said, including the impact on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature in opposition to any with the suspected NLC workforce that might be determined from the knowledge and info interrogated”.

What's more, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide enough motive to own these kinds of exposed inside the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information and facts “stolen” from your NLC was despatched to the US, in which he claimed it had been staying sold to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating comparable claims he had previously created in Parliament, which involved advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was mindful not to name possibly.

“I came right here On this August house last year and noted to honourable members that specifics of our beneficiaries has been stolen and place in a single condition in the usa,” he informed MPs.

“We termed within the Point out Security Company to return investigate the make a difference mainly because we are receiving experiences that our info is creating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There's been communicate, obviously from a single source, one media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but didn't convey to MPs the SSA investigation had been completed Pretty much a 12 months earlier.

Proactive funding was at the center from the looting of the lottery. It aspect-stepped the traditional grant approach. The NLC could alone discover a project to fund and appoint a non-profit organisation to oversee it.

Just after Nevhutanda initial advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a press release indicating that his remarks mirrored “an incredibly perilous attitude exactly where the media is getting blamed for your NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“As an alternative to investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative tried to Forged question about the integrity from the journalists associated and has requested the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive jobs produced magic formula
Stability flaws identified during the NLC grant funding program throughout the SSA’s investigation, surface to are already utilised as an justification by the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘secret’ and jobs have been faraway from the grant funding technique and taken care of manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Office environment, Govt Manager Authorized in order to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of inside dialogue, with lots of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside of a senior posture on the NLC at the time, explained to GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to remove all the proactive jobs from the process and limit entry to a handful of people today”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC many decades back, is implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.3-million from lottery resources allotted to make a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he employed to construct a home in an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The home is among numerous paid out for with lottery funds that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near higher-ups within the ANC leadership, 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 look at.

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

Each time a new administration, including the complete board and executive, took over at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation relating to proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-primarily based. Key files were missing. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage company Metrofile had been signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was able to recover copies of some ruay files from its Mimecast email archiving program plus the laptops in their assistants and support staff.

News reports
In his one December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave issue probable info security breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts received due to doing official capabilities while in the Commission by NLC staff. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity of the Fee even though disrupting the powerful functions [in the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational harm to your Commission as the custodian of non-public information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request to the SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at present experiencing a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to file the functions which transpired associated with data stability breaches for the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She shown numerous news reports which she claimed were the effects of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this text).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its staff, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her categorised NLC Information and persistently inspired her to deliver the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to boost the issue internally had been ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 posting from the Day-to-day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene claimed that the NLC identified after which you can suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker within the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the lover as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Together with the NLC investing R470,000 on attorneys to stand for it, but was found not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The popular Think about these content is always that [they include] categorised facts referring to proactive funding jobs,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the relatives house to take the warmth off her and his children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Business in an empty factory belonging to a pal.

Equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation course of action meant to recognise the damage a lot of people endured for the palms on the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economic compensation are expected.

“Some individuals were being genuinely impacted very negatively by this … This is admittedly unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Day-to-day Maverick final 12 months.

“I met several these people. It had been just so coronary heart-wrenching that their full life are already turned the other way up,” explained Scholtz.

Between Individuals she fulfilled were being Qhino and Makatse.

Protected platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at enough time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will bring about workers presenting these kinds of situations outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its results.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it continues to be vital that it ensures that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its aim is on making sure that unlawful and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated towards and by ensuring an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with no staying intimidated.”

It advisable which the NLC build a “Secure channel” for workers to deliver info on any “untoward activity” that might not reduce or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, depending on the Safeguarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is actually a necessity.”

Media experiences Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner with the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The short article had features of knowledge not offered in the general public area, thereby elevating worry on interior Info safety breaches. The allegations while in the media were being independently investigated,” Nene stated. “Even so, employees answerable for divulging categorised data have but being determined”;
A 28 January 2018 report printed from the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations from the Limpopo Mirror article released on 10 December 2017 in addition to a new allegation regarding a former worker by the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for the menace caused to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 post in the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been finished. “The Lowvelder write-up contained categorized facts in terms of NLC plan, boosting even further issues of inner data safety breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened information protection risks in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Principal Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it absolutely was according to leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Usage of Information) request for particulars with regard to the project, she stated

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