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 Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at enough time mentioned media reports she mentioned had been dependant on “stolen” information within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It discovered the data was not a make a difference of point out protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for the media to show it.
A whole new board and administration has due to the fact taken more than the NLC and Up to now have taken measures to end corruption for the establishment.
A State Safety Company (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished ample motive” for exposure via the media.

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

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security agency’s “confidential” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the part of NLC workers inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified unique media and reports that she claimed included these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA told the NLC that although defending point out details was “a legal vital aimed toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity with the point out” this only placed on appropriately categorised information and facts.

Even though it didn't say so specifically, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked info did not tumble into this classification.

Drastically, the SSA built it apparent that the necessity to protect condition data “would not prevent any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation observed which the NLC info linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, although not categorized with regard to the prescripts of your Minimum amount Details Protection Specifications (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage of your related delicate Formal NLC information to the media does not pose a risk to countrywide protection,” the SSA claimed, including which the affect from the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature against any of your suspected NLC personnel which could be determined from the information and knowledge interrogated”.

In addition, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present enough motive to obtain these kinds of exposed from the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which information “stolen” in the NLC was sent to the US, where he claimed it was being marketed to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating comparable promises he had Beforehand produced in Parliament, which incorporated ad hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to name possibly.

“I came in this article With this August home past year and described to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries has been stolen and put in one condition in the united states,” he explained to MPs.

“We called within the Condition Safety Agency to come back investigate the subject because we are getting experiences that our information is building revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There was discuss, needless to say from one supply, 1 media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but failed to notify MPs that the SSA investigation had been done Virtually a calendar year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart with the looting of the lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant course of action. The NLC could alone identify a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda first told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement declaring that his remarks reflected “an extremely perilous Angle wherever the media is getting blamed for the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“In lieu of investigating why hundreds of thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative made an effort to Forged doubt about the integrity from the journalists concerned and it has questioned the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive tasks manufactured top secret
Security flaws identified within the NLC grant funding program over the SSA’s investigation, look to happen to be utilised being an excuse from the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘secret’ and tasks were faraway from the grant funding program and taken care of manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Office environment, Executive Manager Lawful in order to safeguard [the] info,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of inner discussion, with many forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a senior posture on the NLC at the time, instructed GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to remove the many proactive tasks in the process and limit use of A few individuals”.

Some in that handful of individuals have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC several a long time back, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He acquired R4.3-million from lottery funds allotted to develop a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to build a dwelling in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The assets is one of quite a few paid for with lottery money which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups within the ANC Management, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which confused the NLC on their view.

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

Each time a new administration, including the entire board and government, took over for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” in the documentation associated with proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based mostly. Key documents ended up lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage business Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was in the position to Recuperate copies of some ตรวจ สลาก documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving process along with the laptops of their assistants and aid staff members.

News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave problem possible information protection breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private facts received because of doing official capabilities during the Commission by NLC staff. The actions are meant to undermine the integrity with the Commission though disrupting the productive functions [of your NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational harm into the Commission as the custodian of non-public information entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for that SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC firm secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

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

The objective of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to report the situations which transpired relating to information security breaches at the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She detailed various information reviews which she claimed were the final results of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this information).

Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “furnished her classified NLC Data and persistently inspired her to supply the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to boost The problem internally were being disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 posting during the Every day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene explained that the NLC identified after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee during the NLC’s East London Business, who was the lover as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC shelling out R470,000 on legal professionals to signify it, but was located not responsible and permitted to return to operate.

“The typical Consider these articles is that [they include] classified info referring to proactive funding tasks,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the loved ones house to go ahead and take heat off her and his children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Place of work within an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.

The two Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process intended to recognise the damage some people endured for the arms from the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, financial compensation are anticipated.

“Some persons were being really affected extremely negatively by this … This is absolutely agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day-to-day Maverick previous yr.

“I satisfied a few these people. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their whole lives happen to be turned the other way up,” mentioned Scholtz.

Among the Individuals she achieved had been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound System necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at some time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to your media.

“Failure to possess a dedicated anti-corruption channel will lead to personnel presenting such circumstances outside of the NLC,” the SSA explained in its results.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it remains essential that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its target is on making certain that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by making certain an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without having staying intimidated.”

It suggested which the NLC create a “Harmless channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward exercise” that would not reduce or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, determined by the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is often a prerequisite.”

Media reviews Nene listed
A 10 December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Fitness 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 posting had aspects of information not readily available in the public domain, thereby boosting issue on interior Info security breaches. The allegations within the media had been independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Even so, staff members chargeable for divulging labeled details have nonetheless to get determined”;
A 28 January 2018 post released by the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations within the Limpopo Mirror post revealed on ten December 2017 and a new allegation associated with a previous personnel by the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for your risk induced on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up inside the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder article contained labeled details in terms of NLC coverage, boosting further more considerations of internal information and facts security breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened data protection challenges throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it absolutely was based on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information) ask for for specifics regarding the undertaking, she stated