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 Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the State Stability Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at time listed media studies she claimed had been depending on “stolen” facts within an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It discovered the information was not a make a difference of point out security and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for your media to reveal it.
A new board and management has considering the fact that taken about the NLC and thus far have taken measures to end corruption on the institution.
A Point out Stability Agency (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished ample motive” for exposure with the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” conclusions and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the part of NLC team inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined precise media and studies that she claimed associated these leaks.

From the letter outlining its results, the SSA informed the NLC that while shielding condition information and facts was “a legal critical geared toward safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only applied to properly classified details.

Although it didn't say so immediately, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked facts did not tumble into this classification.

Significantly, the SSA produced it very clear that the necessity to protect state facts “isn't going to protect against any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation identified the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, but not categorised in terms of the prescripts of the Minimum amount Facts Security Criteria (Skip)”.

“The leakage on the related delicate Formal NLC data to your media would not pose a threat to nationwide security,” the SSA stated, adding which the impact of your breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature from any from the suspected NLC employees which could be determined from the information and facts interrogated”.

What's more, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver sufficient motive to acquire this kind of exposed while in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where facts “stolen” with the NLC was sent for the US, exactly where he claimed it absolutely was staying offered to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating comparable promises he had Earlier produced in Parliament, which bundled advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call possibly.

“I came below in this August property last yr and described to honourable users that information about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one state in America,” he told MPs.

“We referred to as within the State Security Company to come back investigate the subject mainly because we're obtaining experiences that our information and facts is creating cash for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There was converse, needless to say from one source, a person media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs the SSA investigation had been concluded Pretty much a yr earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting with the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant course of action. The NLC could alone determine a job to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to supervise it.

Right after Nevhutanda to start with instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued an announcement saying that his remarks mirrored “a very unsafe attitude the place the media is currently being blamed to the NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“Instead of investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute made an effort to cast question to the integrity in the journalists associated and has questioned the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive projects built solution
Safety flaws identified during the NLC grant funding program in the course of the SSA’s investigation, look to have been applied being an excuse because of the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘key’ and initiatives were being faraway from the grant funding procedure and managed manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Office, Executive Manager Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] info,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was many inside discussion, with a great deal of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior place at the NLC at some time, explained to GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to eliminate every one of the proactive tasks from the process and limit use of A few men and women”.

Some in that handful of folks have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC numerous decades ago, has become 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 made use of to make a house within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The assets is among many paid for with lottery resources which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device acquired a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups in the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which confused the NLC on their look at.

Also implicated are previous board users 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 due to the fact died.

When a new administration, including the complete board and government, took about at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation associated with proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-dependent. Critical paperwork had been lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was capable to recover copies of some ผล หวย documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving process as well as laptops in their assistants and assistance employees.

Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave issue achievable information protection breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private info received on account of carrying out official features during the Fee by NLC employees. The actions are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission although disrupting the powerful features [in the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational harm towards the Fee as being the custodian of non-public info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for your SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is now going through a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to history the gatherings which transpired relating to details safety breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She detailed several information stories which she claimed were being the effects of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this information).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “provided her labeled NLC Data and persistently inspired her to supply the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman immediately after attempts to raise The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 short article in the Everyday Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene stated that the NLC identified after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker inside the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the associate plus the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few small children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Along with the NLC spending R470,000 on attorneys to symbolize it, but was identified not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The widespread Consider these article content is that [they involve] categorised facts concerning proactive funding tasks,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the household home to take the heat off her and his little ones. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an office in an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.

Equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the damage a lot of people endured for the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, money payment are predicted.

“Some men and women had been seriously impacted quite negatively by this … This is de facto distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day by day Maverick past yr.

“I met two or three these persons. It was just so heart-wrenching that their total life have been turned the wrong way up,” reported Scholtz.

Amongst Those people she fulfilled ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at the time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will cause employees presenting such scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA explained in its conclusions.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it continues to be vital that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its target is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated against and by making certain an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without the need of becoming intimidated.”

It advised the NLC set up a “Protected channel” for employees to deliver info on any “untoward exercise” that may not prevent or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based on the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, can be a necessity.”

Media reviews Nene listed
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner of your Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report experienced features of data not obtainable in the public area, thus raising issue on interior Information security breaches. The allegations while in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Having said that, staff chargeable for divulging labeled information have however to be discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up posted from the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations from your Limpopo Mirror post revealed on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation referring to a former worker with the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed to the menace induced on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up inside the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder posting contained labeled info when it comes to NLC coverage, raising further problems of internal facts security breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened information security hazards inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed 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) ask for for specifics regarding the project, she explained