Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to research leaks

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Former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at time listed media stories she reported were determined by “stolen” details within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the knowledge was not a issue of point out protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” with the media to expose it.
A brand new board and management has because taken around the NLC and To date have taken measures to end corruption for the establishment.
A State Safety Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered enough motive” for publicity because of the media.

The probe into intended “details security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken following 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 at the moment suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the purpose of NLC team while in the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified certain media and experiences that she claimed concerned these leaks.

From the letter outlining its findings, the SSA advised the NLC that though protecting point out information and facts was “a authorized essential aimed at preserving the sovereignty and integrity with the state” this only applied to correctly categorized information and facts.

Although it didn't say so directly, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked info did not tumble into this category.

Drastically, the SSA produced it obvious that the necessity to guard point out information and facts “does not stop any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation observed the NLC facts involved with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, but not classified in terms of the prescripts on the Minimum amount Info Security Requirements (MISS)”.

“The leakage of the applicable sensitive Formal NLC facts to your media won't pose a menace to nationwide protection,” the SSA claimed, introducing which the effect of your breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature versus any in the suspected NLC staff members which could be discovered from the information and data interrogated”.

Furthermore, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply ample motive to have this kind of exposed during the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which information “stolen” within the NLC was sent for the US, wherever he claimed it had been remaining bought to fund a smear marketing campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating comparable statements he had Beforehand designed in Parliament, which involved ad hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to name both.

“I arrived listed here With this August house final 12 months and noted to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries has become stolen and put in one condition in America,” he advised MPs.

“We known as on the Condition Protection Company to return consider the subject simply because we're receiving stories that our information and facts is generating cash for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There's been discuss, needless to say from a single source, one media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not tell MPs which the SSA investigation had been concluded Virtually a year previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts in the looting of your lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant process. The NLC could by itself detect a venture to fund and appoint a non-profit organisation to oversee it.

After Nevhutanda initially told Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued an announcement indicating that his remarks mirrored “a particularly unsafe Angle exactly where the media is getting blamed to the NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“Rather than investigating why millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has in its place made an effort to Solid doubt over the integrity of your journalists included and has questioned the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive assignments created secret
Protection flaws identified from the NLC grant funding method in the SSA’s investigation, look to are actually employed being an justification by the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘key’ and assignments ended up faraway from the grant funding technique and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Office environment, Government Manager Lawful so that you can safeguard [the] facts,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of internal dialogue, with a lot of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in the senior position for the NLC at the time, advised GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to get rid of many of the proactive tasks through the procedure and limit access to a handful of men and women”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC a number of years in the past, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He gained R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to create a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he utilized to construct a residence within an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The home is one of many paid out for with lottery money which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired 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 substantial-ups while in the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which confused the NLC on their own check out.

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

When a new administration, including the total board and government, took around within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” during the documentation associated with proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-based. Essential documents ended up missing. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage business Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.

The NLC was ready to Get better copies of some ตรวจ หวย paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving system and also the laptops of their assistants and help personnel.

News studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave issue probable information and facts protection breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information received because of performing official capabilities while in the Fee by NLC personnel. The actions are intended to undermine the integrity of your Commission even though disrupting the effective functions [with the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational harm on the Fee given that the custodian of private info 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 presently dealing with a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to record the situations which transpired regarding details stability breaches with the National Lotteries Commission”.

She mentioned different information reports which she claimed have been the results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this article).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its employees, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her classified NLC Details and persistently encouraged her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman soon after attempts to raise The difficulty internally have been ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 report within the Daily Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene said the NLC discovered then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff inside the NLC’s East London Business, who was the companion plus the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few kids.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, with the NLC spending R470,000 on lawyers to represent it, but was found not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The popular Consider these articles or blog posts is always that [they include] categorised facts associated with proactive funding projects,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the spouse and children property to go ahead and take heat off her and his youngsters. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Place of work within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.

Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the harm a number of people endured with the fingers in the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economic compensation are envisioned.

“Some individuals were being genuinely impacted very negatively by this … This is admittedly agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day by day Maverick previous year.

“I fulfilled a couple of these persons. It was just so heart-wrenching that their total life happen to be turned the wrong way up,” reported Scholtz.

Amongst People she fulfilled were being Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to the media.

“Failure to possess a committed anti-corruption channel will cause staff presenting this sort of instances beyond the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its findings.

“Given the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it stays essential that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its focus is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated from and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without the need of getting intimidated.”

It encouraged which the NLC build a “safe channel” for workers to deliver info on any “untoward exercise” that may not reduce or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based upon the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a need.”

Media stories Nene shown
A 10 December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor of the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The posting had aspects of data not accessible in the public domain, therefore increasing issue on interior Info safety breaches. The allegations while in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Nevertheless, workers liable for divulging categorized details have however to become identified”;
A 28 January 2018 posting released through the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations from the Limpopo Mirror short article printed on ten December 2017 as well as a new allegation concerning a former personnel by the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the threat triggered to your organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 post while in the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, in spite of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been done. “The Lowvelder posting contained categorised facts with regard to NLC coverage, raising further fears of inside details stability breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened data stability hazards throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Principal Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it had been according to leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Usage of Details) request for facts about the undertaking, she explained

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