Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at some time outlined media stories she said have been according to “stolen” data in an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It discovered the information was not a issue of point out stability and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” to the media to reveal it.
A different board and management has since taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption with the institution.
A State Stability Agency (SSA) investigation located which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented sufficient motive” for publicity via the media.

The probe into meant “information security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the role of NLC employees within the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered particular media and stories that she claimed involved these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its findings, the SSA informed the NLC that though defending state data was “a lawful crucial directed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of your condition” this only placed on properly categorised info.

Although it did not say so specifically, the SSA findings implied that the allegedly leaked information didn't fall into this class.

Appreciably, the SSA manufactured it very clear that the necessity to protect state info “doesn't protect against any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation identified that the NLC information and facts linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not classified with regards to the prescripts of your Bare minimum Information Protection Expectations (Skip)”.

“The leakage with the relevant delicate Formal NLC facts to your media won't pose a menace to nationwide safety,” the SSA stated, adding which the influence of the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature versus any on the suspected NLC workers that may be determined from the information and facts interrogated”.

Furthermore, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give enough motive to get such exposed within the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which info “stolen” in the NLC was despatched to your US, where by he claimed it absolutely was currently being bought to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating very similar statements he had Formerly produced in Parliament, which involved advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to name both.

“I arrived here With this August house very last calendar year and reported to honourable associates that information regarding our beneficiaries has long been stolen and set in a single point out in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We called around the State Stability Company to come back explore the make a difference since we are having stories that our data is producing money for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There was discuss, of course from one particular resource, a single media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but didn't convey to MPs that the SSA investigation had been finished Pretty much a year previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts in the looting with the lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant course of action. The NLC could by itself detect a venture to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

Soon after Nevhutanda initial instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued a press release indicating that his remarks mirrored “a very perilous Frame of mind in which the media is being blamed with the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative made an effort to cast doubt on the integrity on the journalists concerned and it has questioned the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive projects created key
Protection flaws recognized while in the NLC grant funding process through the SSA’s investigation, look to are actually utilized as an justification because of the NLC to remove all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants process.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘top secret’ and assignments were faraway from the grant funding system and maintained manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Office, Executive Manager Authorized in order to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inside dialogue, with plenty of forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside a senior placement within the NLC at some time, instructed GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to eliminate many of the proactive initiatives from your procedure and limit usage of a handful of men and women”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC various years ago, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He received R4.3-million from lottery funds allocated to construct a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he applied to make a dwelling in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The assets is one of a number of paid out for with lottery money that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired 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 close to large-ups inside the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overcome the NLC on their watch.

Also implicated are previous board associates William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got given that died.

When a new administration, including the full board and executive, took about on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” within the documentation regarding proactive funding, much of which was paper-based mostly. Critical files were being lacking. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage company Metrofile were signed out and never returned.

The NLC was capable of Recuperate copies of some หวย ลาว วัน นี้ documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving procedure as well as the laptops of their assistants and guidance staff.

News reviews
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave problem achievable details safety breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential info attained due to doing official capabilities while in the Commission by NLC staff members. The pursuits are intended to undermine the integrity with the Commission when disrupting the successful capabilities [from the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational harm to your Fee because the custodian of non-public information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for your SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC enterprise secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently going through a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to record the events which transpired relating to information protection breaches with the National Lotteries Fee”.

She detailed various information reviews which she claimed were being the outcome of such “breaches” (see at the end of this article).

Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, experienced “provided her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman immediately after tries to boost The problem internally have been dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 post within the Every day Dispatch concerning the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene reported the NLC identified and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel within the NLC’s East London office, who was the lover as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few young children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Using the NLC shelling out R470,000 on legal professionals to represent it, but was identified not guilty and allowed to return to work.

“The typical factor in these content articles is always that [they entail] categorized details referring to proactive funding tasks,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the family household to take the warmth off her and his young children. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Business in an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a buddy.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation course of action meant to recognise the harm a number of people experienced at the hands from the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, fiscal payment are anticipated.

“Some persons have been genuinely affected quite negatively by this … This is actually unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Every day Maverick previous 12 months.

“I achieved a few these men and women. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their complete lives have already been turned upside down,” stated Scholtz.

Amongst These she achieved ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Secure platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at some time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will cause workforce presenting this sort of circumstances beyond the NLC,” the SSA explained in its conclusions.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it continues to be very important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its target is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by ensuring an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with no becoming intimidated.”

It advised the NLC set up a “Protected channel” for workers to provide information on any “untoward action” that may not avoid or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, determined by the Secured Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is usually a prerequisite.”

Media reviews Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor with the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The posting experienced features of data not accessible in the public domain, therefore increasing worry on inner Data safety breaches. The allegations from the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Nonetheless, employees accountable for divulging categorised details have yet being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 short article printed via the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations with the Limpopo Mirror post revealed on ten December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a former worker with the title 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 with regard to the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been done. “The Lowvelder posting contained labeled info in terms of NLC coverage, boosting even more issues of inside info safety breaches,” Nene claimed 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 throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Main Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it had been determined by leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Information and facts) request for details with regard to the task, she stated