Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to investigate leaks

Blog Article

Previous National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at enough time mentioned media reviews she claimed were dependant on “stolen” information within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the information wasn't a make any difference of condition protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” with the media to reveal it.
A completely new board and administration has due to the fact taken above the NLC and thus far have taken measures to finish corruption within the establishment.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied enough motive” for exposure by the media.

The probe into supposed “information and facts security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken right after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote into the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “private” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the part of NLC workers during the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit determined precise media and stories that she claimed associated these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA informed the NLC that although defending point out details was “a lawful crucial targeted at protecting the sovereignty and integrity in the condition” this only placed on appropriately labeled info.

Although it didn't say so straight, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked info didn't tumble into this classification.

Noticeably, the SSA made it apparent that the necessity to defend condition information “will not avoid any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located the NLC info involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not categorized concerning the prescripts in the Minimum amount Details Safety Requirements (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage on the relevant sensitive Formal NLC info to your media won't pose a menace to national protection,” the SSA reported, including the effect on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no evidence of a factual and incriminating character towards any of your suspected NLC staff that could be determined from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.

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

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein information “stolen” in the NLC was sent for the US, in which he claimed it absolutely was getting bought to fund a smear campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating similar statements he had Formerly produced in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was watchful not to name both.

“I arrived listed here In this particular August house previous calendar year and described to honourable associates that information about our beneficiaries has become stolen and set in a single condition in the united states,” he informed MPs.

“We called over the State Protection Agency to come look into the make a difference since we're receiving experiences that our information and facts is generating cash for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There have been chat, needless to say from a person source, a person media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs the SSA investigation had been completed almost a year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart on the looting of the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant process. The NLC could alone recognize a venture to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to supervise it.

Soon after Nevhutanda first explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement indicating that his remarks mirrored “a particularly risky Perspective wherever the media is becoming blamed for your NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“Rather than investigating why thousands and thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has in its place attempted to cast doubt within the integrity of the journalists included and it has asked the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive projects designed secret
Protection flaws discovered while in the NLC grant funding system in the course of the SSA’s investigation, appear to have already been applied being an excuse from the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘key’ and jobs have been removed from the grant funding technique and taken care of manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Office environment, Executive Supervisor Legal to be able to safeguard [the] details,” Nene said in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inside dialogue, with a great deal of forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside of a senior place with the NLC at enough time, told GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to eliminate every one of the proactive jobs through the method and limit entry to a handful of people”.

Some in that handful of people were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC numerous many years in the past, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He been given R4.3-million from lottery cash allocated to create a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he used to create a property in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The property is one of numerous paid out for with lottery resources which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device attained a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near superior-ups during the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own look at.

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 since died.

Any time a new administration, including the complete board and government, took around at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation regarding proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-primarily based. Crucial documents had been lacking. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and by no means returned.

The NLC was capable of Get better copies of some hihuay paperwork from its Mimecast e-mail archiving program along with the laptops of their assistants and help personnel.

News experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave worry achievable details stability breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private facts obtained due to carrying out Formal capabilities inside the Commission by NLC personnel. The things to do are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission even though disrupting the helpful functions [from the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational hurt to the Commission since the custodian of personal information entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request with the SSA to research was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC enterprise secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at the moment struggling with a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized action to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to file the activities which transpired associated with info stability breaches in the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She outlined a variety of information reports which she claimed had been the effects of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this text).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its personnel, Sello Qhino, had “offered her classified NLC Information and persistently inspired her to provide the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman immediately after makes an attempt to lift The difficulty internally were ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 report while in the Everyday Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene explained which the NLC discovered then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the associate plus the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC paying out R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was found not guilty and permitted to return to work.

“The typical Think about these content articles is the fact that [they contain] labeled details regarding proactive funding assignments,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the relatives home to take the heat off her and his youngsters. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an empty factory belonging to a friend.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method intended to recognise the hurt some people experienced for the fingers from the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, fiscal payment are predicted.

“Some people had been really influenced extremely negatively by this … This is actually agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Daily Maverick previous calendar year.

“I met a number of these individuals. It was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives have been turned upside down,” explained Scholtz.

Among the These she met were Qhino and Makatse.

Secure System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at enough time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to your media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to workforce presenting these scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its findings.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it remains vital that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its focus is on ensuring that illegal and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by guaranteeing an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with no staying intimidated.”

It proposed which the NLC create a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward exercise” that might not reduce or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, determined by the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, can be a necessity.”

Media reports Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner with the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The report experienced features of information not readily available in the public area, thus boosting issue on inside Information security breaches. The allegations inside the media had been independently investigated,” Nene stated. “Nevertheless, personnel to blame for divulging categorized information have still for being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 report printed because of the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations within the Limpopo Mirror report published on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation concerning a former employee through the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the threat brought on for the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up while in the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder posting contained labeled details when it comes to NLC coverage, raising further more issues of inside information security breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened data protection challenges in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had verified in its story that it was based on leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Use of Details) ask for for information in regards to the undertaking, she reported