Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to investigate leaks

Blog Article

Previous Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at enough time stated media experiences she reported were being based on “stolen” information within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the knowledge was not a subject of state stability and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for your media to show it.
A fresh board and administration has considering that taken over the NLC and To this point have taken steps to finish corruption at the institution.
A Condition Safety Company (SSA) investigation uncovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied ample motive” for exposure from the media.

The probe into supposed “details safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote into the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to investigate the job of NLC personnel while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified particular media and reviews that she claimed involved these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its results, the SSA advised the NLC that whilst safeguarding condition data was “a lawful critical aimed at preserving the sovereignty and integrity of your state” this only applied to appropriately categorized info.

Although it did not say so immediately, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not tumble into this group.

Significantly, the SSA built it distinct that the necessity to safeguard state data “does not avert any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation uncovered which the NLC information and facts involved with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, although not classified concerning the prescripts from the Bare minimum Facts Stability Requirements (Skip)”.

“The leakage in the appropriate sensitive official NLC information to the media would not pose a menace to national stability,” the SSA claimed, including that the impression in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of the factual and incriminating character versus any on the suspected NLC employees that would be identified from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.

In addition, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide ample motive to get these uncovered during the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information “stolen” within the NLC was despatched towards the US, where he claimed it had been becoming bought to fund a smear campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent promises he had Formerly made in Parliament, which provided advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was mindful not to call both.

“I arrived here On this August household past year and reported to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one state in the usa,” he explained to MPs.

“We termed to the Condition Security Company to come back consider the matter because we have been acquiring experiences that our data is producing dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There have been discuss, certainly from a single supply, one media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation were completed Virtually a yr earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart from the looting in the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant process. The NLC could alone establish a task to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.

After Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement saying that his remarks reflected “an extremely unsafe attitude the place the media is remaining blamed for your NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively attempted to Solid question on the integrity in the journalists included and it has questioned the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive tasks built secret
Security flaws recognized from the NLC grant funding process over the SSA’s investigation, look to are already utilised as an justification by the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘secret’ and initiatives had been removed from the grant funding system and preserved manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Office, Government Supervisor Lawful in an effort to safeguard [the] data,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inside dialogue, with plenty of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in the senior position at the NLC at time, instructed GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to remove each of the proactive assignments through the program and Restrict access to A few men and women”.

Some in that handful of men and women were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC several several years back, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He gained R4.3-million from lottery cash allotted to create a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he utilised to construct a household within an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The residence is one of quite a few paid out for with lottery cash that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to higher-ups during the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their observe.

Also implicated are previous board customers William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has due to the fact died.

Every time a new administration, such as the total board and government, took in excess of with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation referring to proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based. Critical documents were being missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was capable of Get better copies of some ltpbet files from its Mimecast e mail archiving program and also the laptops in their assistants and help team.

News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave problem probable details protection breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data received on account of performing Formal capabilities in the Fee by NLC employees. The activities are meant to undermine the integrity of your Fee even though disrupting the powerful features [from the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational hurt on the Commission given that the custodian of non-public info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for the SSA to research was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is presently struggling with a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to document the functions which transpired concerning information security breaches in the National Lotteries Commission”.

She listed numerous information experiences which she claimed were being the final results of those “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her categorized NLC Information and persistently inspired her to deliver the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a number of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman just after attempts to boost The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 report from the Daily Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene explained the NLC recognized then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker inside the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the spouse as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, with the NLC paying out R470,000 on lawyers to characterize it, but was discovered not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The typical Consider these article content is the fact that [they entail] categorised information referring to proactive funding tasks,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the relatives household to go ahead and take heat off her and his kids. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Workplace within an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a colleague.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation process meant to recognise the hurt a lot of people suffered for the hands on the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, fiscal payment are envisioned.

“Some folks ended up really affected quite negatively by this … This is admittedly distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Every day Maverick final yr.

“I met a few these folks. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total lives have already been turned upside down,” reported Scholtz.

Between Individuals she fulfilled were Qhino and Makatse.

Protected System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered the absence at the time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn towards the media.

“Failure to possess a dedicated anti-corruption channel will bring about personnel presenting these types of scenarios outside of the NLC,” the SSA explained in its findings.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it stays crucial that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its aim is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated towards and by ensuring an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct devoid of currently being intimidated.”

It suggested the NLC build a “Harmless channel” for employees to provide information on any “untoward exercise” that will not avert or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based upon the Shielded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a necessity.”

Media stories Nene stated
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator from the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The posting had components of data not offered in the public area, therefore elevating worry on internal Facts protection breaches. The allegations while in the media had been independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Having said that, employees liable for divulging categorized data have nevertheless to become determined”;
A 28 January 2018 post released by the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations within the Limpopo Mirror report posted on ten December 2017 as well as a new allegation concerning a previous personnel via the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your threat brought on towards the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 short article in the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder report contained categorised info with regard to NLC plan, boosting additional problems of inner facts protection breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened info safety hazards inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had verified in its story that it was depending on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Facts) request for details about the task, she said