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 Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at enough time mentioned media studies she reported were being according to “stolen” information within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the data was not a make any difference of condition security and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to expose it.
A new board and management has since taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption on the institution.
A Condition Security Company (SSA) investigation located which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied sufficient motive” for publicity because of the media.

The probe into meant “info security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote towards the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” conclusions and recommendations.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the function of NLC team while in the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized unique media and reviews that she claimed included these leaks.

In the letter outlining its findings, the SSA instructed the NLC that though defending condition facts was “a lawful imperative aimed at defending the sovereignty and integrity on the condition” this only applied to correctly categorised facts.

Although it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked details didn't drop into this category.

Significantly, the SSA designed it obvious that the need to secure state information and facts “isn't going to prevent any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC information associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not categorised with regards to the prescripts with the Minimal Information and facts Safety Standards (Overlook)”.

“The leakage on the pertinent delicate official NLC information and facts on the media isn't going to pose a menace to national protection,” the SSA said, incorporating which the effect of the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature from any of the suspected NLC staff members which could be recognized from the information and knowledge interrogated”.

Additionally, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present enough motive to have these types of exposed within the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein facts “stolen” from the NLC was sent for the US, wherever he claimed it was currently being offered to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent claims he experienced previously built in Parliament, which involved ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call either.

“I arrived here With this 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 identified as to the Point out Stability Agency to come back take a look at the issue since we've been getting experiences that our information and facts is making income for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There have been chat, obviously from just one source, one particular media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but did not inform MPs which the SSA investigation had been done Practically a year previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts from the looting in the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant procedure. The NLC could alone discover a job to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to oversee it.

Following Nevhutanda initially instructed Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement saying that his remarks mirrored “an incredibly unsafe Frame of mind exactly where the media is staying blamed for your NLC’s inherent problems”.

“Rather then investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has in its place tried to cast doubt within the integrity on the journalists associated and has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive jobs built secret
Stability flaws determined from the NLC grant funding technique in the course of the SSA’s investigation, seem to have already been used being an excuse because of the NLC to remove all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘secret’ and assignments were faraway from the grant funding process and managed manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Workplace, Govt Manager Lawful so as to safeguard [the] details,” Nene said in her affidavit.

“There was lots of inside discussion, with numerous forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside of a senior posture for the NLC at enough time, advised GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to eliminate the many proactive initiatives from your method and Restrict entry to A few folks”.

Some in that handful of folks ended up implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC several several years back, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to develop a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he applied to make a dwelling in an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The house is one of quite a few paid for with lottery cash which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to large-ups in the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their check out.

Also implicated are former board users William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has considering the fact that died.

Whenever a new administration, such as the complete board and executive, took more than within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” from the documentation regarding proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-based mostly. Key paperwork ended up missing. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage company Metrofile had been signed out and by no means returned.

The NLC was ready to recover copies of some หวย ไทยรัฐ paperwork from its Mimecast e-mail archiving process as well as laptops in their assistants and assist staff members.

News reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave concern achievable details safety breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential details attained due to executing Formal functions while in the Fee by NLC workforce. The actions are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission although disrupting the powerful features [in the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational damage to your Fee as being the custodian of private information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

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

The goal of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to report the events which transpired associated with information and facts security breaches on the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She shown many information experiences which she claimed were being the results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorised NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to offer the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman following makes an attempt to lift the issue internally ended up disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 report during the Every day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene mentioned the NLC determined and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee inside the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the husband or wife and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 young children.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, with the NLC expending R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was found not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The typical Think about these content articles is that [they entail] categorised info concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family members house to take the heat off her and his kids. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Office environment 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 many people suffered at the palms from the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, fiscal payment are anticipated.

“Some people today ended up actually affected really negatively by this … This is actually unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Every day Maverick previous 12 months.

“I achieved a couple of these folks. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives have already been turned the wrong way up,” mentioned Scholtz.

Amongst These she met were being Qhino and Makatse.

Harmless platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at some time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will bring about staff presenting such situations beyond the NLC,” the SSA said in its findings.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it continues to be crucial that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its concentrate is on ensuring that illegal and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated from and by guaranteeing an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without having getting intimidated.”

It advised that the NLC build a “Safe and sound channel” for employees to deliver information on any “untoward exercise” that could not avoid or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, depending on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually a necessity.”

Media stories Nene outlined
A 10 December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator from the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The article had things of data not available in the general public area, thus increasing problem on inner Details security breaches. The allegations in the media were being independently investigated,” Nene explained. “On the other hand, personnel liable for divulging categorised data have yet to get identified”;
A 28 January 2018 report posted through the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations from the Limpopo Mirror write-up revealed on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation concerning a previous staff via the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that menace induced on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 short article inside the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been accomplished. “The Lowvelder posting contained classified details with regard to NLC plan, raising additional worries of inside data protection breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts stability challenges inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Major Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp had verified in its story that it absolutely was depending on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Use of Info) ask for for specifics concerning the challenge, she explained