Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Agency to investigate leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Condition Security Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at time listed media stories she stated ended up determined by “stolen” information in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the information wasn't a matter of state security and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to show it.
A new board and administration has since taken over the NLC and thus far have taken steps to end corruption at the establishment.
A State Stability Agency (SSA) investigation found the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied enough motive” for exposure because of the media.

The probe into supposed “facts security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “private” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the position of NLC staff members during the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit determined precise media and stories that she claimed concerned these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its findings, the SSA explained to the NLC that when shielding state information was “a authorized vital targeted at preserving the sovereignty and integrity from the point out” this only placed on appropriately labeled info.

Although it didn't say so instantly, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked facts did not fall into this classification.

Noticeably, the SSA manufactured it crystal clear that the need to defend state data “does not avoid any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation discovered the NLC information and facts associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not classified with regard to the prescripts of the Minimum amount Facts Protection Benchmarks (Overlook)”.

“The leakage on the suitable delicate Formal NLC info towards the media doesn't pose a menace to countrywide security,” the SSA claimed, introducing that the effect with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no evidence of a factual and incriminating nature towards any in the suspected NLC personnel which could be discovered from the data and facts interrogated”.

Additionally, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver sufficient motive to get this kind of uncovered while in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, business and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where information “stolen” through the NLC was despatched to the US, in which he claimed it had been remaining sold to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent claims he had previously produced in Parliament, which incorporated ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was thorough not to name either.

“I arrived below In this particular August property final year and described to honourable associates that information about our beneficiaries has long been stolen and place in a single state in the united states,” he informed MPs.

“We identified as within the Condition Stability Agency to come back take a look at the make a difference mainly because we've been obtaining studies that our facts is building money for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There's been discuss, naturally from one particular supply, a single media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but failed to convey to MPs the SSA investigation had been done Practically a year before.

Proactive funding was at the heart of your looting in the lottery. It facet-stepped the conventional grant system. The NLC could itself detect a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda to start with informed Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued an announcement declaring that his remarks reflected “a very risky Angle where by the media is being blamed with the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“Rather than investigating why tens of millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has rather made an effort to Solid question about the integrity from the journalists included and it has requested the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive assignments built key
Stability flaws identified while in the NLC grant funding system through the SSA’s investigation, show up to have been employed as an excuse through the NLC to remove all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘key’ and tasks were faraway from the grant funding method and taken care of manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Workplace, Government Supervisor Legal as a way to safeguard [the] info,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was lots of inner discussion, with a lot of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a very senior placement within the NLC at time, informed GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to eliminate each of the proactive projects from your method and Restrict access to a handful of folks”.

Some in that handful of men and women have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC numerous years back, is implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He gained R4.3-million from lottery resources allocated to create a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to construct a home in an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The property is among several paid for with lottery resources which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to higher-ups from the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their own look at.

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

Whenever a new administration, such as the entire board and government, took over with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation referring to proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-based. Crucial paperwork ended up lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was ready to Get better copies of some ตรวจ รางวัล documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving process as well as laptops in their assistants and support employees.

News reports
In his one December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave worry attainable data safety breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private data acquired on account of undertaking official features within the Fee by NLC workers. The functions are intended to undermine the integrity on the Fee whilst disrupting the productive functions [in the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Commission since the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for with the SSA to analyze was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

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

The objective of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to history the gatherings which transpired associated with info stability breaches on the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She stated numerous information reports which she claimed have been the results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this article).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its employees, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her categorized NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to supply the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman just after makes an attempt to raise the issue internally were being overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting from the Everyday Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene explained which the NLC recognized and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker during the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the partner as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Along with the NLC expending R470,000 on legal professionals to stand for it, but was uncovered not responsible and allowed to return to operate.

“The prevalent Consider these articles or blog posts is always that [they include] categorised facts associated with proactive funding projects,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family property to go ahead and take heat off her and his little ones. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Business office within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a colleague.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the damage many people experienced with the hands with the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, financial compensation are envisioned.

“Some folks were being genuinely afflicted extremely negatively by this … This is de facto painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Each day Maverick past year.

“I met a number of these men and women. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their complete lives have already been turned upside down,” stated Scholtz.

Amongst These she met were being Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at enough time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.

“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will bring about personnel presenting this kind of circumstances outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its findings.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it stays important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its aim is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated from and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without having getting intimidated.”

It advised that the NLC create a “Protected channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward action” that would not reduce or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, according to the Secured Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, can be a necessity.”

Media reports Nene stated
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator in the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The write-up experienced factors of data not accessible in the public area, thus boosting concern on inner Information and facts security breaches. The allegations inside the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Even so, workforce accountable for divulging classified info have however to become determined”;
A 28 January 2018 posting released because of the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations in the Limpopo Mirror article posted on ten December 2017 as well as a new allegation relating to a former employee because of the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the threat induced to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 short article within the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been finished. “The Lowvelder write-up contained categorized details regarding NLC coverage, elevating more issues of interior facts protection breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regards to these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts protection dangers throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Key Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it had been based on leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Use of Information and facts) request for particulars with regards to the challenge, she said

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