Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at enough time stated media experiences she said ended up based upon “stolen” information within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It uncovered the information was not a make any difference of state security and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for your media to show it.
A new board and administration has considering the fact that taken above the NLC and Up to now have taken actions to end corruption for the establishment.
A Point out Protection Agency (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered enough motive” for exposure through the media.

The probe into supposed “details security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “private” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the position of NLC team inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized particular media and reviews that she claimed associated these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its results, the SSA told the NLC that even though protecting state details was “a lawful vital aimed toward defending the sovereignty and integrity from the point out” this only applied to properly classified information and facts.

Although it didn't say so right, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked information did not tumble into this category.

Noticeably, the SSA produced it obvious that the necessity to guard condition data “won't protect against any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation located that the NLC info linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, although not classified when it comes to the prescripts of the Least Info Stability Specifications (Pass up)”.

“The leakage on the applicable sensitive official NLC data to the media will not pose a menace to countrywide stability,” the SSA said, adding that the influence in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature versus any of the suspected NLC employees that could be discovered from the knowledge and info interrogated”.

Furthermore, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give ample motive to acquire these kinds of uncovered while in the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where information “stolen” from your NLC was sent to your US, where by he claimed it absolutely was being sold to fund a smear marketing campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating similar promises he experienced Formerly created in Parliament, which incorporated ad hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was cautious not to call either.

“I arrived below In this particular August home past 12 months and reported to honourable customers that information about our beneficiaries has long been stolen and place in a single point out in America,” he advised MPs.

“We called within the Condition Stability Company to come back look into the subject simply because we're receiving studies that our details is generating money for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There's been communicate, naturally from just one source, a person media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but didn't explain to MPs the SSA investigation were completed Just about a year before.

Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting with the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant procedure. The NLC could itself recognize a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to oversee it.

Following Nevhutanda initially instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued a statement expressing that his remarks mirrored “an incredibly hazardous Perspective in which the media is becoming blamed for the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“Instead of investigating why millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has in its place tried to cast doubt within the integrity from the journalists included and has asked the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive tasks made mystery
Stability flaws determined in the NLC grant funding process during the SSA’s investigation, seem to are actually made use of being an excuse with 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 assignments was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and jobs have been removed from the grant funding technique and preserved manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Office environment, Executive Supervisor Authorized so as to safeguard [the] information,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was lots of internal dialogue, with a great deal of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was within a senior place within the NLC at enough time, advised GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to eliminate all the proactive jobs within the process and Restrict use of A few people”.

Some in that handful of people had been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC a number of many years ago, is implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He obtained R4.3-million from lottery funds allotted to make a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he applied to make a dwelling within an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The house is one of numerous compensated for with lottery funds that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to substantial-ups within the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their watch.

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

Whenever a new administration, such as the overall board and government, took more than at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” within the documentation regarding proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-centered. Key documents have been missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was in the position to Get better copies of some ผล หวย ลาว วัน นี้ files from its Mimecast email archiving system as well as laptops of their assistants and aid workers.

Information experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave concern feasible information and facts security breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private data attained as a result of undertaking official features in the Fee by NLC employees. The actions are meant to undermine the integrity from the Fee even though disrupting the effective features [in the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational hurt for the Fee since the custodian of personal facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for that SSA to research was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently struggling with a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to file the gatherings which transpired concerning details security breaches at the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She detailed different news reports which she claimed were being the outcome of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this information).

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 deliver the data to GroundUp”.

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

Referring to an 18 November 2018 write-up inside the Daily Dispatch concerning the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene claimed the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker during the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the companion plus the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC spending R470,000 on lawyers to signify it, but was located not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The popular factor in these content articles is [they include] classified information relating to proactive funding jobs,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an office in an vacant factory belonging to a colleague.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation approach meant to recognise the damage many people endured for the palms of your NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, economic compensation are anticipated.

“Some folks had been actually affected very negatively by this … This is actually distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Everyday Maverick last 12 months.

“I satisfied a couple of these people. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their full lives are actually turned the wrong way up,” reported Scholtz.

Amongst All those she met have been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn into the media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will end in workforce presenting this kind of circumstances outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its findings.

“Given the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it continues to be very important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its focus is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated towards and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with no being intimidated.”

It advisable which the NLC build a “Secure channel” for employees to offer info on any “untoward action” that may not avoid or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, depending on the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is often a prerequisite.”

Media stories Nene shown
A 10 December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner with the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The write-up experienced things of information not readily available in the public domain, thereby increasing issue on internal Facts security breaches. The allegations from the media were being independently investigated,” Nene explained. “However, staff to blame for divulging categorised info have however to become identified”;
A 28 January 2018 posting posted via the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations with the Limpopo Mirror report printed on ten December 2017 plus a new allegation referring to a previous worker from the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for that threat induced to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 short article in the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, Regardless of obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been concluded. “The Lowvelder article contained categorized info regarding NLC policy, raising additional issues of internal information and facts protection breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened details stability challenges within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it had been based on leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Usage of Information) request for specifics with regard to the project, she said

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