Lottery bosses turned to State Protection Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Protection Company to analyze leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at time stated media reviews she claimed were dependant on “stolen” details in an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the data wasn't a matter of state stability and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for that media to reveal it.
A whole new board and management has considering that taken above the NLC and So far have taken measures to finish corruption on the establishment.
A Condition Security Agency (SSA) investigation found the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied enough motive” for exposure with the media.

The probe into meant “data stability breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at this time suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “private” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the part of NLC personnel while in the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified distinct media and reviews that she claimed involved these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that although defending point out information was “a authorized crucial targeted at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity in the point out” this only placed on properly classified info.

Even though it did not say so directly, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked details did not drop into this classification.

Drastically, the SSA manufactured it distinct that the need to shield condition data “won't reduce any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation located the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, but not labeled regarding the prescripts with the Minimum Facts Security Expectations (Overlook)”.

“The leakage from the applicable delicate official NLC data to the media will not pose a menace to nationwide protection,” the SSA reported, introducing which the impact of the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no evidence of the factual and incriminating character in opposition to any on the suspected NLC personnel that can be recognized from the data and facts interrogated”.

In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present ample motive to obtain these uncovered while in the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, market and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which facts “stolen” from the NLC was sent to the US, in which he claimed it was getting offered to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating comparable claims he experienced Earlier created in Parliament, which incorporated ad hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to call either.

“I arrived right here Within this August dwelling previous year and described to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and place in a single state in America,” he instructed MPs.

“We called within the Condition Protection Company to return look into the make a difference mainly because we've been having experiences that our information is generating money for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There has been communicate, certainly from a person supply, 1 media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but failed to convey to MPs that the SSA investigation were finished Pretty much a yr previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts in the looting of your lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant course of action. The NLC could alone determine a task to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to supervise it.

Following Nevhutanda very first advised Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement stating that his remarks reflected “an extremely perilous Angle where by the media is currently being blamed for your NLC’s inherent problems”.

“Rather then investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has instead made an effort to cast question about the integrity in the journalists associated and has requested the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive jobs manufactured magic formula
Protection flaws identified during the NLC grant funding process in the SSA’s investigation, seem to are actually made use of being an justification via the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘top secret’ and jobs ended up faraway from the grant funding method and managed manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Workplace, Government Manager Authorized in order to safeguard [the] data,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was plenty of interior dialogue, with plenty of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside a senior posture for the NLC at enough time, instructed GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to remove all of the proactive jobs within the process and Restrict entry to A few people”.

Some in that handful of men and women have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC numerous several years back, is implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He been given R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to construct a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to develop a home in an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The property is one of a number of paid out for with lottery money that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near superior-ups during 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 view.

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

Any time a new administration, including the total board and govt, took more than for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation concerning proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-dependent. Critical files were being lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage firm Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was capable of Recuperate copies of some fox888 paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving process as well as laptops in their assistants and aid team.

Information stories
In his 1 December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave issue probable facts protection breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private data obtained on account of doing Formal functions during the Commission by NLC staff members. The actions are intended to undermine the integrity of your Fee although disrupting the helpful capabilities [from the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational hurt into the Fee as the custodian of personal info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is now 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 mentioned, was “to record the gatherings which transpired referring to information protection breaches at the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She outlined a variety of information reports which she claimed have been the effects of such “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, had “presented her categorized NLC Details and persistently encouraged her to provide the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman after tries to raise The difficulty internally have been ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 write-up in the Each day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene explained which the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee inside the NLC’s East London Business, who was the companion as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC investing R470,000 on lawyers to represent it, but was uncovered not responsible and allowed to return to operate.

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

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the spouse and children house to take the warmth off her and his children. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.

Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure intended to recognise the hurt some individuals suffered at the arms with the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, financial payment are predicted.

“Some men and women ended up genuinely impacted extremely negatively by this … This is absolutely unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Each day Maverick very last year.

“I achieved a few these folks. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total lives happen to be turned the wrong way up,” stated Scholtz.

Amongst All those she satisfied ended up Qhino and Makatse.

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

“Failure to have a dedicated anti-corruption channel will bring about employees presenting such circumstances beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its findings.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it stays crucial that it ensures that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its focus is on making sure that illegal and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by guaranteeing an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without having being intimidated.”

It advised which the NLC build a “Protected channel” for employees to provide information on any “untoward action” that may not stop or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based upon the Shielded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is often a necessity.”

Media reports Nene detailed
A 10 December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor on the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The short article experienced things of knowledge not offered in the public domain, therefore raising worry on internal Facts safety breaches. The allegations within the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Nevertheless, workforce chargeable for divulging classified data have nonetheless for being determined”;
A 28 January 2018 posting posted by the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations from your Limpopo Mirror report printed on ten December 2017 and also a new allegation concerning a previous personnel because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the menace induced to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 post 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 completed. “The Lowvelder write-up contained categorized facts with regard to NLC coverage, elevating more issues of interior information and facts stability breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened data stability hazards throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Major Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it was dependant on leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Use of Info) request for facts in regards to the challenge, she said

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