Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at enough time listed media stories she stated have been depending on “stolen” information and facts within an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It identified the knowledge was not a subject of condition protection and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for your media to expose it.
A fresh board and management has because taken over the NLC and Up to now have taken actions to end corruption at the establishment.
A State Protection Agency (SSA) investigation observed that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided sufficient motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into intended “info security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “confidential” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the purpose of NLC employees from the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized unique media and reviews that she claimed included these leaks.

During the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that even though preserving state details was “a legal critical geared toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only placed on properly classified information and facts.

Although it didn't say so straight, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked information did not drop into this class.

Noticeably, the SSA produced it very clear that the need to defend condition data “isn't going to avert any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation located that the NLC information linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, although not classified in terms of the prescripts with the Minimal Information Protection Standards (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage of the appropriate delicate Formal NLC details into the media will not pose a menace to nationwide stability,” the SSA said, adding that the effect on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature towards any in the suspected NLC staff that can be recognized from the information and details interrogated”.

It also mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide sufficient motive to possess such exposed in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which data “stolen” within the NLC was despatched towards the US, in which he claimed it had been staying marketed to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating very similar statements he had previously produced in Parliament, which integrated advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to call either.

“I arrived listed here On this August home past 12 months and reported 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 about the Point out Stability Agency to come investigate the make any difference since we're receiving stories that our information and facts is generating money for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There has been talk, of course from 1 resource, just one media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but failed to notify MPs that the SSA investigation were finished almost a 12 months earlier.

Proactive funding was at the center of the looting on the lottery. It facet-stepped the normal grant course of action. The NLC could alone recognize a job to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to oversee it.

Soon after Nevhutanda to start with told Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a statement expressing that his remarks mirrored “a particularly unsafe Angle where by the media is becoming blamed for the NLC’s inherent issues”.

“As an alternative to investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has instead attempted to cast doubt on the integrity on the journalists involved and has questioned the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive assignments produced magic formula
Stability flaws recognized during the NLC grant funding program in the SSA’s investigation, appear to are actually utilized as an excuse with the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded projects from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘solution’ and jobs were removed from the grant funding program and taken care of manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Office, Govt Manager Lawful so as to safeguard [the] info,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was many inner dialogue, with lots of forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was in a senior placement at the NLC at time, told GroundUp. “Ultimately, the decision was taken to get rid of all the proactive assignments within the method and limit access to A few folks”.

Some in that handful of individuals were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC quite a few years in the past, is implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery funds allocated to make a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he employed to develop a home in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The assets is among quite a few compensated for with lottery resources which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to high-ups in the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their enjoy.

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

When a new administration, including the overall board and executive, took above within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” from the documentation concerning proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based mostly. Essential paperwork ended up missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage organization Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.

The NLC was in a position to recover copies of some เช ค หวย paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving process as well as laptops in their assistants and aid team.

Information stories
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave concern possible information stability breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information received because of performing official capabilities while in the Fee by NLC staff. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity with the Fee whilst disrupting the productive capabilities [from the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational hurt to the Commission because the custodian of personal details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request to the SSA to research was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC business secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is presently dealing with a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to file the activities which transpired relating to facts safety breaches within the National Lotteries Commission”.

She mentioned a variety of information reports which she claimed have been the effects of these “breaches” (see at the end of this information).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its staff members, Sello Qhino, experienced “furnished her categorised NLC Information and facts and persistently inspired her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman just after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally ended up dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 report inside the Daily Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene said the NLC discovered after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff within the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the companion along with the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Together with the NLC paying out R470,000 on attorneys to depict it, but was located not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The frequent factor in these articles is always that [they require] labeled details associated with proactive funding initiatives,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the spouse and children household to take the warmth off her and his kids. Struggling with 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 procedure meant to recognise the hurt a lot of people suffered with the palms with the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, financial compensation are envisioned.

“Some individuals were really influenced incredibly negatively by this … This is de facto painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Each day Maverick very last calendar year.

“I satisfied a few these individuals. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their complete life happen to be turned the wrong way up,” reported Scholtz.

Amongst All those she met ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at enough time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to the media.

“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will bring about employees presenting this sort of situations outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its conclusions.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it remains critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts and that its concentration is on making certain that unlawful and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated towards and by making sure an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without currently being intimidated.”

It recommended the NLC establish a “Harmless channel” for workers to deliver info on any “untoward exercise” that might not avoid or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, dependant on the Shielded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a requirement.”

Media reports Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor of your Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The post experienced aspects of information not available in the general public area, thereby elevating worry on interior Details stability breaches. The allegations within the media have been independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Even so, workforce liable for divulging categorized data have nonetheless to be identified”;
A 28 January 2018 post printed from the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations in the Limpopo Mirror write-up published on ten December 2017 as well as a new allegation referring to a previous worker via the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the threat induced to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up from the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been concluded. “The Lowvelder short article contained labeled data regarding NLC policy, raising further more problems of inner info stability breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened data security pitfalls throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had confirmed in its story that it had been dependant on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Usage of Information) request for particulars regarding the task, she explained

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