Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to investigate leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at the time stated media stories she said were being dependant on “stolen” details in an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It located the data wasn't a issue of condition safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for the media to show it.
A different board and administration has since taken in excess of the NLC and To date have taken steps to finish corruption at the establishment.
A State Stability Agency (SSA) investigation found that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented ample motive” for exposure through the media.

The probe into supposed “facts safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “private” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the role of NLC staff members inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized distinct media and experiences that she claimed associated these leaks.

During the letter outlining its results, the SSA instructed the NLC that when safeguarding condition facts was “a authorized vital aimed at shielding the sovereignty and integrity on the state” this only applied to correctly labeled information and facts.

Even though it did not say so immediately, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not tumble into this category.

Noticeably, the SSA built it crystal clear that the necessity to shield point out details “does not stop any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation observed the NLC details associated with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, although not labeled in terms of the prescripts from the Minimum amount Information and facts Safety Requirements (MISS)”.

“The leakage of your relevant delicate Formal NLC info to your media does not pose a risk to countrywide safety,” the SSA said, incorporating that the impression from the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no evidence of the factual and incriminating mother nature versus any in the suspected NLC employees that would be discovered from the data and facts interrogated”.

It also mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply enough motive to own these types of exposed in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information “stolen” from your NLC was despatched for the US, wherever he claimed it had been getting sold to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent statements he had Formerly made in Parliament, which included advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was watchful not to name both.

“I came in this article Within this August household final calendar year and described to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has been stolen and put in a single state in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We known as about the Point out Security Agency to return explore the make any difference for the reason that we have been obtaining stories that our info is making dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There have been talk, needless to say from 1 resource, one particular media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs which the SSA investigation were finished Pretty much a year previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts of the looting of your lottery. It aspect-stepped the normal grant process. The NLC could itself identify a challenge to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a statement expressing that his remarks mirrored “an extremely risky Mindset the place the media is getting blamed for that NLC’s inherent problems”.

“As opposed to investigating why thousands and thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has instead tried to Forged doubt over the integrity of your journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive assignments made mystery
Security flaws determined during the NLC grant funding method over the SSA’s investigation, surface to happen to be employed as an justification via the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘secret’ and projects ended up faraway from the grant funding process and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Place of work, Govt Supervisor Legal so that you can safeguard [the] details,” Nene said in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of inside discussion, with numerous back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was within a senior placement within the NLC at some time, informed GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to get rid of each of the proactive initiatives from the program and limit entry to a handful of persons”.

Some in that handful of individuals were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC numerous decades in the past, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He received R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to develop a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he utilised to develop a dwelling within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The property is one of a number of paid for with lottery resources which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to significant-ups during the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own observe.

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

Any time a new administration, such as the whole board and executive, took in excess of for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” during the documentation concerning proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-dependent. Essential documents were being missing. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage organization Metrofile were signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was capable to recover copies of some หวย ลาว ออก วัน นี้ สด documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving procedure as well as laptops in their assistants and help employees.

Information studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave issue attainable details safety breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information acquired due to performing official functions while in the Fee by NLC staff members. The activities are meant to undermine the integrity from the Commission when disrupting the successful capabilities [of your NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational harm towards the Fee as the custodian of private facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is presently facing a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to file the activities which transpired concerning details stability breaches in the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She listed different information experiences which she claimed were the effects of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “delivered her categorised NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to provide the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman just after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally ended up overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article from the Every day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene claimed that the NLC identified and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel in the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the husband or wife along with the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 kids.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, With all the NLC expending R470,000 on attorneys to characterize it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The popular factor in these articles or blog posts is always that [they entail] classified information concerning proactive funding tasks,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the household dwelling to go ahead and take warmth off her and his youngsters. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Business within an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a buddy.

Equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the damage a lot of people endured on the arms with the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, monetary payment are expected.

“Some people today have been definitely impacted incredibly negatively by this … This is basically distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Day-to-day Maverick very last calendar year.

“I met a number of these persons. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total life are turned the other way up,” reported Scholtz.

Among the Those people she achieved were being Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound platform needed for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at enough time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to your media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to employees presenting these instances beyond the NLC,” the SSA said in its results.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it stays important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its concentrate is on making certain that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated towards and by making certain an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without having getting intimidated.”

It advised that the NLC establish a “Harmless channel” for workers to provide info on any “untoward action” that will not prevent or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, according to the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually a necessity.”

Media stories Nene detailed
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner from the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The report had aspects of knowledge not readily available in the general public area, thereby raising concern on interior Information and facts protection breaches. The allegations while in the media had been independently investigated,” Nene said. “Having said that, staff members to blame for divulging categorized information have still for being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up posted through the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations in the Limpopo Mirror report posted on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation associated with a previous personnel because of 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 documented how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder posting contained categorized information concerning NLC policy, increasing additional problems of internal data stability breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened information security hazards in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Major Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it had been depending on leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Information) ask for for particulars concerning the project, she claimed