Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at enough time listed media stories she stated have been depending on “stolen” facts within an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It identified the knowledge wasn't a subject of point out protection and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to expose it.
A different board and management has due to the fact taken about the NLC and So far have taken actions to end corruption on the institution.
A State Safety Company (SSA) investigation identified that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied sufficient motive” for publicity from the media.
The probe into intended “information and facts security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken immediately after 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 enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the function of NLC staff while in the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered unique media and experiences that she claimed associated these leaks.
From the letter outlining its results, the SSA informed the NLC that whilst guarding point out information was “a legal vital geared toward safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity on the state” this only placed on properly classified info.
Even though it didn't say so specifically, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked info did not drop into this group.
Substantially, the SSA built it clear that the need to safeguard condition data “would not reduce any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.
The SSA investigation observed the NLC info involved in the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not classified in terms of the prescripts with the Minimal Information and facts Safety Benchmarks (Skip)”.
“The leakage of your pertinent sensitive Formal NLC information and facts towards the media isn't going to pose a danger to countrywide stability,” the SSA stated, including that the influence in the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report located “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature versus any of your suspected NLC workforce which could be discovered from the knowledge and information interrogated”.
In addition, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer sufficient motive to possess such exposed during the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein info “stolen” through the NLC was despatched to your US, where he claimed it was being sold to fund a smear marketing campaign versus the NLC.
He was repeating similar promises he experienced Formerly produced in Parliament, which integrated advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to name possibly.
“I arrived right here in this August household previous calendar year and described to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and place in a single state in the united states,” he instructed MPs.
“We known as about the Point out Stability Company to return consider the issue for the reason that we've been getting experiences that our details is creating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There was talk, of course from one supply, 1 media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but did not convey to MPs that the SSA investigation had been accomplished Pretty much a calendar year previously.
Proactive funding was at the heart with the looting from the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant approach. The NLC could itself recognize a venture to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to supervise it.
Following Nevhutanda very first informed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement expressing that his remarks mirrored “an extremely dangerous Mind-set exactly where the media is getting blamed for your NLC’s inherent complications”.
“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute attempted to Solid doubt within the integrity with the journalists included and has questioned the SSA to analyze their sources.”
Proactive assignments made mystery
Stability flaws identified inside the NLC grant funding process during the SSA’s investigation, seem to are already applied being an excuse through the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants program.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘top secret’ and initiatives have been removed from the grant funding procedure and preserved manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Business office, Executive Manager Lawful in an effort to safeguard [the] information,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.
“There was lots of inside dialogue, with lots of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, 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 every one of the proactive initiatives through the technique and limit access to A few individuals”.
Some in that handful of individuals ended up implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC quite a few years ago, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He been given R4.three-million from lottery money allocated to build a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he utilised to construct a home within an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The property is among a number of paid out for with lottery funds that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation order in December 2022.
The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to significant-ups within the ANC leadership, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which confused the NLC on their own watch.
Also implicated are former board members William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have since died.
When a new administration, such as the overall board and government, took above at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” from the documentation associated with proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-based. Critical documents ended up lacking. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage business Metrofile were signed out and never returned.
The NLC was capable to Get better copies of some cat888 documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving technique and also the laptops in their assistants and support staff members.
News studies
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave issue achievable facts security breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data received on account of accomplishing Formal capabilities during the Fee by NLC workforce. The things to do are meant to undermine the integrity on the Commission whilst disrupting the efficient capabilities [with the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational harm to the Fee because the custodian of private details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for to the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC enterprise secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present going through a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her watch.
The purpose of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to report the activities which transpired concerning details security breaches on the National Lotteries Fee”.
She detailed many news stories which she claimed had been the results of such “breaches” (see at the end of this post).
Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to deliver the data to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman immediately after attempts to boost the issue internally were being disregarded, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an 18 November 2018 write-up in the Day by day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene stated which the NLC identified and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel inside the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the companion along with the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 youngsters.
Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, With all the NLC paying out R470,000 on lawyers to depict it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to work.
“The common Think about these posts is the fact that [they include] classified details associated with proactive funding tasks,” Nene stated in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your household house to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Going through homelessness, he moved into an office in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.
Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the damage lots of people experienced for the palms with the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, fiscal compensation are expected.
“Some individuals were being genuinely impacted very negatively by this … This is de facto unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Day-to-day Maverick last 12 months.
“I achieved several these individuals. It was just so heart-wrenching that their full life have already been turned the wrong way up,” reported Scholtz.
Among Individuals she fulfilled ended up Qhino and Makatse.
Harmless System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at the time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to your media.
“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will result in employees presenting such conditions beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its conclusions.
“Provided the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it continues to be critical that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its concentrate is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated from and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without the need of becoming intimidated.”
It advised the NLC create a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to offer information on any “untoward activity” that will not avoid or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, according to the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is often a necessity.”
Media reviews Nene listed
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator from the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The posting had aspects of data not accessible in the public domain, therefore increasing worry on interior Information security breaches. The allegations within the media have been independently investigated,” Nene explained. “On the other hand, staff members chargeable for divulging categorised facts have nevertheless to get recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 article released with the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations from the Limpopo Mirror short article printed on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation regarding a former worker because of the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for that danger brought on on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting in the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been accomplished. “The Lowvelder report contained categorized info when it comes to NLC plan, increasing more issues of interior data security breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regards to these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened facts security pitfalls throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Major Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it absolutely was according to leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Info) request for particulars regarding the undertaking, she mentioned
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