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 Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at the time outlined media studies she explained have been based on “stolen” information within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It uncovered the knowledge was not a make any difference of condition security and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to expose it.
A completely new board and management has since taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken measures to end corruption within the establishment.
A State Safety Agency (SSA) investigation located which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered enough motive” for publicity by the media.

The probe into meant “information security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the role of NLC staff members inside the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized precise media and reviews that she claimed included these leaks.

In the letter outlining its findings, the SSA instructed the NLC that though defending condition facts was “a lawful imperative geared toward defending the sovereignty and integrity on the condition” this only applied to appropriately categorised information.

Even though it did not say so immediately, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not tumble into this group.

Drastically, the SSA created it clear that the necessity to shield condition info “would not avert any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation uncovered that the NLC data linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not categorized with regard to the prescripts with the Minimal Information and facts Safety Standards (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage of your applicable delicate Formal NLC data to the media will not pose a risk to national security,” the SSA stated, adding which the effects on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no evidence of the factual and incriminating mother nature against any of the suspected NLC staff members that may be determined from the data and details interrogated”.

Furthermore, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply enough motive to possess these types of exposed inside the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, market and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein information “stolen” from the NLC was despatched to your US, wherever he claimed it had been becoming bought to fund a smear marketing campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating similar statements he had Earlier produced in Parliament, which bundled advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was watchful not to call either.

“I came in this article In this particular August house previous 12 months and reported to honourable associates that information regarding our beneficiaries has long been stolen and set in a single point out in the usa,” he explained to MPs.

“We known as around the State Security Company to return check into the subject for the reason that we have been acquiring reviews that our information is building income for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There has been converse, needless to say from one supply, one media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but did not convey to MPs that the SSA investigation had been accomplished Pretty much a year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart on the looting with the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could alone identify a project to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda to start with explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a statement indicating that his remarks reflected “an extremely perilous Frame of mind where the media is staying blamed for your NLC’s inherent complications”.

“As opposed to investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively made an effort to Forged question on the integrity from the journalists concerned and has asked the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive projects produced key
Safety flaws identified within the NLC grant funding system throughout the SSA’s investigation, appear to are actually applied as an justification with the NLC to remove all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘secret’ and assignments were removed from the grant funding process and maintained manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Workplace, Executive Manager Authorized so as to safeguard [the] information,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inner dialogue, with lots of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside of a senior position on the NLC at time, advised GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to get rid of the many proactive initiatives with the process and Restrict entry to a handful of people”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC many many years back, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He received R4.3-million from lottery resources allocated to develop a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he employed to build a home in an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The home is one of a number of paid for with lottery resources which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device attained a preservation get in December 2022.

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

Also implicated are previous board members William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got because died.

Any time a new administration, including the full board and govt, took more than on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they uncovered a “chaotic mess” during the documentation referring to proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-centered. Crucial paperwork ended up lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage company Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was capable of recover copies of some ผล หวย หุ้น paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving process as well as laptops in their assistants and assistance employees.

News studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave worry attainable details protection breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts obtained because of undertaking Formal capabilities in the Fee by NLC employees. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission while disrupting the effective capabilities [of your NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational damage on the Commission given that the custodian of non-public info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is now going through a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to file the situations which transpired referring to details protection breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She stated several information studies which she claimed have been the outcome of those “breaches” (see at the end of this informative article).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its employees, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorised NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to offer the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the 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 short article in the Every day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene said that the NLC discovered and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee within the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the companion and also the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC investing R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The common factor in these content is the fact that [they require] categorised information referring to proactive funding initiatives,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family members house to take the warmth off her and his small children. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an office within an empty factory belonging to an acquaintance.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation process meant to recognise the harm lots of people endured in the palms in the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, economic payment are envisioned.

“Some folks were being truly influenced pretty negatively by this … This is actually unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Day by day Maverick past calendar year.

“I met a few these people. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their full life are already turned the wrong way up,” mentioned Scholtz.

Among those she fulfilled have been Qhino and Makatse.

Secure System necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered the absence at some time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will lead to workforce presenting this sort of conditions beyond the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its results.

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it continues to be essential that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its concentrate 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 deliver information on any “untoward exercise” that might not stop or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based upon the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a necessity.”

Media stories Nene listed
A 10 December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner of the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The article experienced features of data not readily available in the public domain, thus increasing problem on interior Information and facts protection breaches. The allegations inside the media were independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Even so, workers chargeable for divulging categorized information have nevertheless to generally be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 short article published through the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations from the Limpopo Mirror write-up revealed on ten December 2017 and also a new allegation concerning a previous personnel because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for your threat caused to the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report while in the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder report contained classified facts when it comes to NLC coverage, boosting more problems of internal details protection breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened details 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 mentioned GroundUp had verified in its story that it was based on leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Entry to Info) ask for for specifics concerning the challenge, she mentioned