Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Condition Security Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at some time detailed media reports she explained were based on “stolen” details in an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It discovered the information was not a issue of condition protection and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to expose it.
A whole new board and management has considering that taken in excess of the NLC and To this point have taken measures to finish corruption with the institution.
A Condition Safety Company (SSA) investigation identified that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished ample motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into intended “info protection breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken soon after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at this time suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “confidential” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to analyze the job of NLC staff within the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered unique media and experiences that she claimed included these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its findings, the SSA explained to the NLC that when shielding state information and facts was “a authorized imperative targeted at guarding the sovereignty and integrity of your state” this only applied to properly categorised details.

Even though it didn't say so directly, the SSA findings implied that the allegedly leaked data didn't fall into this class.

Drastically, the SSA created it clear that the necessity to shield condition information “doesn't prevent any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation located the NLC info linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, but not labeled concerning the prescripts from the Least Facts Protection Criteria (Skip)”.

“The leakage with the applicable delicate official NLC facts to your media will not pose a threat to national safety,” the SSA claimed, incorporating the impression on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of the factual and incriminating nature from any on the suspected NLC employees that could be determined from the information and data interrogated”.

Additionally, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer sufficient motive to get these kinds of exposed in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, market and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which data “stolen” within the NLC was sent for the US, the place he claimed it absolutely was remaining sold to fund a smear marketing campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent statements he had Formerly created in Parliament, which provided ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to name possibly.

“I came here in this August dwelling very last yr and claimed to honourable customers that information about our beneficiaries has long been stolen and put in a single point out in America,” he instructed MPs.

“We known as to the Point out Security Agency to return consider the issue because we are obtaining studies that our facts is building revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There has been talk, of course from one resource, a person media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but didn't convey to MPs which the SSA investigation were accomplished Nearly a calendar year previously.

Proactive funding was at the heart from the looting of the lottery. It facet-stepped the conventional grant process. The NLC could by itself recognize a challenge to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.

Soon after Nevhutanda first instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued an announcement expressing that his remarks mirrored “an extremely hazardous Mind-set where by the media is being blamed for your NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“In lieu of investigating why tens of millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively attempted to Solid doubt around the integrity of the journalists included and has requested the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive tasks produced top secret
Safety flaws discovered inside the NLC grant funding process through the SSA’s investigation, show up to have already been applied as an excuse with the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and initiatives ended up faraway from the grant funding process and managed manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Business, Govt Manager Lawful so as to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was plenty of interior discussion, with a lot of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside a senior position with the NLC at time, advised GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive projects with the system and Restrict entry to a handful of people today”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC many many years in the past, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He obtained R4.3-million from lottery funds allotted to make a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he applied to make a household in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The residence is one of many paid out for with lottery money that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near substantial-ups inside the ANC leadership, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their observe.

Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned right after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have since died.

Any time a new administration, including the entire board and government, took above in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation referring to proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-dependent. Important paperwork were being lacking. Information held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was in the position to Get better copies of some ผล สลาก documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving technique and the laptops in their assistants and support employees.

News reviews
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave issue probable information stability breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential info attained due to executing Formal functions in the Commission by NLC employees. The functions are intended to undermine the integrity on the Fee whilst disrupting the productive functions [in the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational harm for the Commission as being the custodian of private information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

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

The goal of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to file the activities which transpired relating to information and facts safety breaches at the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She detailed various news stories which she claimed had been the final results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this information).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “provided her classified NLC Details and persistently encouraged her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

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

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting from the Everyday Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene explained that the NLC determined and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel in the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the partner along with the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few children.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC spending R470,000 on legal professionals to represent it, but was found not responsible and permitted to return to work.

“The typical Think about these article content is usually that [they require] categorized information concerning proactive funding assignments,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your household home to take the warmth off her and his kids. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.

Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method intended to recognise the damage a lot of people experienced for the arms with the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, money payment are anticipated.

“Some folks had been truly afflicted incredibly negatively by this … This is absolutely painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Day-to-day Maverick final calendar year.

“I satisfied two or three these men and women. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their complete life happen to be turned the wrong way up,” claimed Scholtz.

Among Individuals she fulfilled were being Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at enough time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn for the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will bring about workforce presenting these scenarios outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its conclusions.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it continues to be critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts and that its aim is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated towards and by making sure an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without the need of getting intimidated.”

It encouraged which the NLC establish a “Secure channel” for employees to supply information on any “untoward activity” that will not avoid or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually a need.”

Media studies Nene detailed
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of your Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The article experienced aspects of information not accessible in the general public domain, thus raising worry on internal Information protection breaches. The allegations within the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene said. “Having said that, staff chargeable for divulging labeled information have however for being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up posted with the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations from your Limpopo Mirror article posted on 10 December 2017 and a new allegation regarding a former staff through the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed to the danger brought on to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up during the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder article contained labeled info regarding NLC plan, raising more worries of internal facts protection breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened data security threats inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Principal Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it absolutely was depending on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Entry to Information) request for specifics with regard to the challenge, she stated

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