Lottery bosses turned to Point out Safety Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Safety Agency to research leaks

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Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at some time detailed media reports she said ended up dependant on “stolen” data within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It discovered the knowledge was not a matter of point out stability and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to reveal 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 within the establishment.
A State Security Agency (SSA) investigation observed that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered ample motive” for exposure via the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the function of NLC employees within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit determined distinct media and studies that she claimed included these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its findings, the SSA instructed the NLC that although guarding point out information and facts was “a lawful very important geared toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only applied to appropriately labeled information and facts.

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

Substantially, the SSA created it distinct that the necessity to guard state information and facts “won't avoid any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation discovered the NLC info involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, but not labeled in terms of the prescripts in the Least Information Security Specifications (MISS)”.

“The leakage of the applicable delicate official NLC information and facts for the media does not pose a risk to nationwide safety,” the SSA reported, adding the impact of the breaches was reputational.

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

Furthermore, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide enough motive to get these uncovered during the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which info “stolen” with the NLC was despatched to your US, wherever he claimed it had been currently being marketed to fund a smear campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent promises he experienced Formerly produced in Parliament, which integrated ad hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was cautious not to call both.

“I arrived in this article Within this August house very last year and described to honourable members that specifics of our beneficiaries is stolen and set in one point out in America,” he informed MPs.

“We termed around the State Security Company to return explore the subject since we're obtaining reports that our facts is producing money for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There has been chat, obviously from just one resource, 1 media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but failed to explain to MPs the SSA investigation had been accomplished Just about a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the center with the looting with the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant method. The NLC could itself identify a project to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to supervise it.

Right after Nevhutanda initial explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to research the meant breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a statement declaring that his remarks mirrored “an especially perilous Perspective where by the media is getting blamed for that NLC’s inherent problems”.

“As an alternative to investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has rather tried to cast question over the integrity of the journalists associated and it has requested the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive jobs designed solution
Safety flaws identified during the NLC grant funding process in the course of the SSA’s investigation, seem to have been applied as an excuse by 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 projects 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 and facts Workplace, Executive Manager Lawful in order to safeguard [the] info,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was plenty 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 enough time, informed GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to eliminate each of the proactive jobs from your procedure and limit entry to A few people”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC a number of several years in the past, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He received R4.three-million from lottery resources allotted to make a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to develop a property in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The property is among numerous compensated for with lottery cash which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to large-ups within the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which confused the NLC on their look at.

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

When a new administration, including the whole board and executive, took in excess of with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” during the documentation concerning proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-based. Essential paperwork ended up missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage firm Metrofile had been signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was in the position to Get well copies of some หวย ลาว ล่าสุด paperwork from its Mimecast email archiving system and also the laptops of their assistants and assistance staff.

Information reports
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 within the Commission by NLC workers. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission while disrupting the efficient capabilities [of your NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational damage for the Fee as being the custodian of non-public info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for your SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at this time dealing with a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in legal action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her view.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to record the activities which transpired regarding information security breaches in the National Lotteries Commission”.

She listed different news reports which she claimed were the outcomes of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her labeled NLC Info and persistently inspired her to provide the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman following makes an attempt to lift The difficulty internally had been overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article inside the Each day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene mentioned the NLC recognized then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker inside the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the associate along with the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few young children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to signify it, but was uncovered not guilty and allowed to return to work.

“The popular factor in these content is the fact that [they entail] labeled information referring to proactive funding assignments,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a buddy.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the harm lots of people endured at the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, financial compensation are predicted.

“Some individuals have been definitely affected quite negatively by this … This is admittedly painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day-to-day Maverick very last 12 months.

“I fulfilled a handful of these people today. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives have been turned the other way up,” reported Scholtz.

Between People she met were being Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound platform desired for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to your media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in staff presenting these types of circumstances beyond the NLC,” the SSA reported in its findings.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it continues to be very important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its focus is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by making certain an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without being intimidated.”

It proposed the NLC establish a “Harmless channel” for employees to provide info on any “untoward activity” that could not stop or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, dependant on the Safeguarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a necessity.”

Media stories Nene outlined
A 10 December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner from the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The post had elements of data not out there in the general public domain, thereby boosting problem on internal Information protection breaches. The allegations while in the media had been independently investigated,” Nene reported. “On the other hand, staff responsible for divulging labeled info have nevertheless to become recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 posting printed with the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations within the Limpopo Mirror posting released on 10 December 2017 as well as a new allegation referring to a previous personnel through the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your danger brought about for the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 write-up in the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC money 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 done. “The Lowvelder write-up contained labeled information and facts with regards to NLC coverage, increasing even further concerns of internal info security breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened details security threats in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Key Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp had verified in its story that it absolutely was determined by leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Entry to Information and facts) request for facts regarding the job, she stated