Lottery bosses turned to State Safety Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Safety Agency to research leaks

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Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Stability Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at enough time detailed media reports she said ended up based on “stolen” facts in an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the information was not a make any difference of condition stability and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” to the media to reveal it.
A different board and administration has since taken more than the NLC and So far have taken measures to finish corruption on the institution.
A Point out Safety Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for exposure from the media.

The probe into meant “details stability 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's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “private” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to analyze the position of NLC personnel within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered distinct media and experiences that she claimed associated these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its results, the SSA told the NLC that even though defending point out facts was “a authorized essential aimed at defending the sovereignty and integrity of the point out” this only placed on properly classified information.

Although it did not say so right, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked details did not slide into this category.

Significantly, the SSA manufactured it apparent that the need to secure state information and facts “isn't going to stop any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation found that the NLC data involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not categorised concerning the prescripts of the Bare minimum Facts Protection Expectations (Pass up)”.

“The leakage of your appropriate delicate official NLC details towards the media doesn't pose a danger to countrywide security,” the SSA said, adding that the effect of the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no proof of the factual and incriminating mother nature versus any of the suspected NLC staff that can be determined from the knowledge and info interrogated”.

In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer enough motive to acquire these kinds of exposed during the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, market and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where info “stolen” with the NLC was despatched towards the US, wherever he claimed it absolutely was being sold to fund a smear campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating very similar statements he had Earlier designed in Parliament, which involved advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to call both.

“I came in this article in this August dwelling very last yr and noted to honourable users that information regarding our beneficiaries is stolen and set in one condition in America,” he instructed MPs.

“We known as to the State Safety Company to return consider the subject because we're receiving stories that our information is producing funds for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There was chat, not surprisingly from just one supply, one particular media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but failed to convey to MPs the SSA investigation were concluded Practically a year previously.

Proactive funding was at the heart with the looting from the lottery. It facet-stepped the normal grant approach. The NLC could alone recognize a challenge to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda very first instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement expressing that his remarks mirrored “a very perilous Angle where the media is being blamed with the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“Rather then investigating why thousands and thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has instead attempted to cast question around the integrity of your journalists included and has questioned the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive jobs manufactured key
Stability flaws determined in the NLC grant funding program throughout the SSA’s investigation, surface to are utilized being an justification through the NLC to remove all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘mystery’ and assignments were being removed from the grant funding system and maintained manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Office, Government Manager Lawful so as to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was lots of interior discussion, with a lot of forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside of a senior position within the NLC at time, instructed GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to eliminate each of the proactive initiatives with the method and limit access to A few people today”.

Some in that handful of folks were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC many yrs ago, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He obtained R4.three-million from lottery cash allocated to create a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he employed to create a property in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The house is among several paid for with lottery cash which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to significant-ups inside the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which confused the NLC on their own observe.

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

Whenever a new administration, such as the entire board and government, took around in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” in the documentation associated with proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-primarily based. Crucial paperwork have been missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage company Metrofile were signed out and never returned.

The NLC was in a position to Get better copies of some เช ค หวย paperwork from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving system and also the laptops of their assistants and help workers.

News reviews
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave worry attainable data safety breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private data obtained due to executing Formal functions during the Commission by NLC workforce. The routines are meant to undermine the integrity from the Commission when disrupting the efficient features [with the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational damage on the Fee as being the custodian of private information entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for with the SSA to analyze was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at this time struggling with a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to document the events which transpired concerning data stability breaches with the National Lotteries Commission”.

She stated numerous information experiences which she claimed had been the final results of such “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its staff, Sello Qhino, had “offered her labeled NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to supply the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman soon after attempts to lift The problem internally had been disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 post in the Each day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene explained which the NLC recognized after which you can suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker from the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the associate as well as 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, Along with the NLC expending R470,000 on legal professionals to characterize it, but was located not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The frequent factor in these articles is usually that [they require] classified information and facts associated with proactive funding projects,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family property to go ahead and take warmth off her and his kids. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an empty factory belonging to a buddy.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the damage lots of people experienced for the palms on the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, economic compensation are envisioned.

“Some persons have been actually afflicted incredibly negatively by this … This is basically painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Every day Maverick very last year.

“I fulfilled a couple of these men and women. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their complete life are actually turned upside down,” mentioned Scholtz.

Between Those people she met ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound platform desired for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at enough time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to your media.

“Failure to possess a committed anti-corruption channel will cause personnel presenting these kinds of circumstances outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its results.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it stays very important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its focus is on making sure that illegal and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated from and by guaranteeing an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with out remaining intimidated.”

It advisable the NLC build a “safe channel” for employees to supply information on any “untoward activity” that will not avoid or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, determined by the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is actually a requirement.”

Media experiences Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner with the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report had aspects of data not obtainable in the general public domain, therefore boosting concern on inner Information protection breaches. The allegations in the media had been independently investigated,” Nene said. “Even so, workforce liable for divulging labeled information and facts have however for being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up printed through the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations from your Limpopo Mirror post posted on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation relating to a previous worker via the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the risk caused on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting while in the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Despite acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been done. “The Lowvelder article contained categorised information and facts in terms of NLC policy, raising further issues of interior information and facts protection breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened information protection dangers in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it absolutely was according to leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Entry to Information and facts) ask for for facts concerning the venture, she stated

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