Lottery bosses turned to Condition Protection Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Protection Agency to research leaks

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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at some time detailed media reports she explained were being dependant on “stolen” details within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It found the information was not a make a difference of state safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for the media to show it.
A new board and administration has since taken around the NLC and Up to now have taken actions to end corruption for the institution.
A Point out Protection Company (SSA) investigation located that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered ample motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into intended “information protection breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out soon 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 at the moment suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “private” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the position of NLC staff members from the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized certain media and reviews that she claimed involved these leaks.

In the letter outlining its results, the SSA informed the NLC that while protecting condition info was “a authorized crucial directed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of the condition” this only placed on correctly classified data.

Even though it didn't say so directly, the SSA findings implied that the allegedly leaked data didn't tumble into this category.

Drastically, the SSA manufactured it crystal clear that the necessity to defend point out information and facts “isn't going to avoid any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC data linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, but not categorized concerning the prescripts of your Bare minimum Facts Security Criteria (Skip)”.

“The leakage of your related delicate Formal NLC information to the media won't pose a risk to national stability,” the SSA explained, incorporating the influence on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of a factual and incriminating nature against any in the suspected NLC workers that would be determined from the knowledge and data interrogated”.

Furthermore, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide sufficient motive to have this kind of uncovered while in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, field and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which information and facts “stolen” in the NLC was sent for the US, wherever he claimed it absolutely was staying bought to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating very similar statements he had previously made in Parliament, which included advert hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to name either.

“I arrived right here in this August dwelling previous year and described to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries is stolen and set in a single state in the united states,” he explained to MPs.

“We referred to as over the Point out Security Agency to come investigate the make any difference simply because we're receiving stories that our facts is building revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There have been converse, certainly from a person supply, 1 media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but did not inform MPs which the SSA investigation had been concluded Virtually a calendar year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the center of the looting on the lottery. It facet-stepped the normal grant approach. The NLC could alone determine a task to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda 1st instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued a statement indicating that his remarks mirrored “a very unsafe Frame of mind the place the media is getting blamed for your NLC’s inherent problems”.

“Rather than investigating why thousands and thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has in its place tried to Solid question within the integrity of your journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive tasks designed secret
Safety flaws recognized while in the NLC grant funding procedure during the SSA’s investigation, appear to have already been utilised as an excuse by the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and projects were being removed from the grant funding system and managed manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Workplace, Executive Supervisor Legal to be able to safeguard [the] information,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inside dialogue, with a great deal of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside a senior placement at the NLC at time, instructed GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to remove the many proactive jobs from your system and limit use of A few people today”.

Some in that handful of people were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC many a long time ago, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He gained R4.three-million from lottery money allotted to make a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to make a dwelling in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The assets is one of numerous paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation buy 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 large-ups during the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their check out.

Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned right after he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has because died.

Every time a new administration, including the whole board and executive, took over at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation referring to proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-primarily based. Critical documents ended up lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was ready to Get better copies of some หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving technique as well as laptops in their assistants and aid staff.

Information experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave problem feasible information stability breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential info attained because of performing Formal functions while in the Fee by NLC staff. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity with the Commission although disrupting the helpful functions [in the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational harm for the Commission since the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at this time experiencing a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her view.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to file the occasions which transpired concerning data security breaches for the National Lotteries Commission”.

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

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its staff members, Sello Qhino, experienced “furnished her categorised NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman immediately after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally have been ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 report inside the Daily Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene said the NLC discovered after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel within the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the partner as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC shelling out R470,000 on attorneys to symbolize it, but was identified not guilty and permitted to return to work.

“The typical Think about these article content is the fact [they entail] classified facts associated with proactive funding projects,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the spouse and children residence to go ahead and take warmth off her and his kids. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a buddy.

Both of those Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process meant to recognise the hurt some people suffered at the arms of your NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, money payment are anticipated.

“Some folks were definitely influenced really negatively by this … This is actually distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Daily Maverick very last year.

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

Between those she met had been Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at enough time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn for the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will end in staff members presenting these kinds of situations outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its results.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it stays essential that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its focus is on making certain that unlawful and irregular perform is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by making sure an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out devoid of being intimidated.”

It advised the NLC establish a “Harmless channel” for workers to provide info on any “untoward activity” that would not protect against or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based upon the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a prerequisite.”

Media reports Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor on the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The posting experienced features of data not available in the general public domain, therefore increasing problem on interior Information and facts safety breaches. The allegations during the media had been independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Nevertheless, staff to blame for divulging categorised information and facts have yet to be discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 short article released with the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations from your Limpopo Mirror article posted on 10 December 2017 and a new allegation regarding a former personnel through the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your menace brought on on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 post within the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been accomplished. “The Lowvelder post contained labeled information and facts with regards to NLC policy, elevating further more concerns of internal info security breaches,” Nene said in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened facts safety risks inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it had been based on leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Entry to Data) ask for for aspects in regards to the challenge, she said

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