Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to analyze leaks

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Former Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at the time detailed media stories she stated ended up according to “stolen” info within an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did look into. It observed the information was not a subject of state stability and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for that media to show it.
A brand new board and management has since taken in excess of the NLC and So far have taken measures to end corruption with the institution.
A State Protection Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for exposure with the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the function of NLC employees within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized particular media and experiences that she claimed included these leaks.

In the letter outlining its findings, the SSA explained to the NLC that whilst defending point out details was “a authorized vital aimed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity from the point out” this only applied to appropriately classified info.

Although it did not say so directly, the SSA findings implied that the allegedly leaked data did not fall into this class.

Significantly, the SSA produced it very clear that the need to defend condition data “doesn't reduce any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation located that the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not classified in terms of the prescripts with the Minimum Facts Security Expectations (Pass up)”.

“The leakage from the suitable delicate Formal NLC information to your media does not pose a threat to national stability,” the SSA mentioned, incorporating the impression of the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature towards any on the suspected NLC staff members that could be discovered from the data and data interrogated”.

Furthermore, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give ample motive to acquire this sort of exposed during the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which details “stolen” through the NLC was sent to the US, where he claimed it absolutely was remaining marketed to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating related claims he had previously designed in Parliament, which incorporated advert hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to name either.

“I arrived here In this particular August house previous 12 months and reported to honourable associates that details about our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and set in a single condition in the united states,” he instructed MPs.

“We termed over the Condition Stability Agency to come check into the issue since we've been receiving studies that our details is generating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There was chat, obviously from one particular source, just one media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but did not tell MPs which the SSA investigation had been done Nearly a year before.

Proactive funding was at the guts with the looting from the lottery. It side-stepped the traditional grant course of action. The NLC could by itself identify a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda initially explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued a statement expressing that his remarks mirrored “an incredibly perilous attitude where the media is being blamed with the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“In lieu of investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has in its place tried to Solid question on the integrity on the journalists associated and has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive jobs made secret
Stability flaws determined inside the NLC grant funding method during the SSA’s investigation, surface to are utilised being an excuse via the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘key’ and initiatives were removed from the grant funding program and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Place of work, Government Manager Legal to be able to safeguard [the] details,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was lots of internal dialogue, with numerous backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in the senior place at the NLC at some time, advised GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to eliminate every one of the proactive projects with the method and limit use of A few folks”.

Some in that handful of folks were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC various years ago, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He gained R4.three-million from lottery cash allocated to create a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he utilised to create a residence in an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The assets is one of a number of compensated for with lottery money which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Device acquired a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near higher-ups during the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which confused the NLC on their own watch.

Also implicated are former board members William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got considering the fact that died.

When a new administration, such as the full board and govt, took about for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” from the documentation regarding proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-primarily based. Key paperwork had been lacking. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage company Metrofile were signed out and by no means returned.

The NLC was ready to recover copies of some สลาก กิน documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving process as well as the laptops in their assistants and assist employees.

Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave issue achievable information and facts safety breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private info acquired due to accomplishing Formal capabilities in the Fee by NLC employees. The activities are meant to undermine the integrity of the Fee when disrupting the helpful features [on the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational harm to the Fee because the custodian of private facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request with the SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is now going through a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to file the gatherings which transpired relating to information and facts stability breaches for the National Lotteries Fee”.

She outlined different news experiences which she claimed had been the effects of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its workers, Sello Qhino, had “provided her categorised NLC Information and facts and persistently inspired her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman soon after attempts to boost The difficulty internally ended up ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article while in the Day by day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene said that the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the spouse as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, with the NLC expending R470,000 on attorneys to represent it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The typical Consider these posts is the fact [they involve] categorized facts relating to proactive funding assignments,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family members residence to take the heat off her and his kids. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Place of work in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a pal.

The two Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the hurt a number of people suffered for the hands with the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economical compensation are anticipated.

“Some people today had been seriously affected really negatively by this … This is de facto distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Everyday Maverick previous 12 months.

“I fulfilled a handful of these people today. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their complete lives happen to be turned upside down,” reported Scholtz.

Among the All those she satisfied were Qhino and Makatse.

Safe System required for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at enough time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will lead to workforce presenting this sort of conditions outside of the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its results.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it remains essential that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its target is on making certain that illegal and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated versus and by making sure an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with no getting intimidated.”

It suggested which the NLC create a “Secure channel” for workers to supply info on any “untoward activity” that may not avert or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, according to the Secured Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is actually a need.”

Media reports Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor on the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The report had factors of information not accessible in the public area, therefore raising issue on inner Details security breaches. The allegations during the media have been independently investigated,” Nene stated. “However, staff members liable for divulging categorised details have nonetheless for being determined”;
A 28 January 2018 article revealed because of the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations from your Limpopo Mirror short article posted on ten December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a former staff by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the risk brought on towards the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 short article while in the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder report contained classified data when it comes to NLC coverage, boosting additional worries of interior info safety breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened information stability risks throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it absolutely was determined by leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Usage of Facts) request for aspects with regards to the undertaking, she reported