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 National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at enough time mentioned media reviews she explained ended up based on “stolen” details in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the data was not a make a difference of state stability and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” with the media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has considering the fact that taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption on the establishment.
A State Safety Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished enough motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into intended “facts protection breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security agency’s “private” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to analyze the position of NLC workers within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized specific media and stories that she claimed concerned these leaks.

During the letter outlining its findings, the SSA explained to the NLC that although preserving state facts was “a lawful essential targeted at protecting the sovereignty and integrity from the condition” this only applied to properly categorized facts.

Even though it did not say so right, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked details did not tumble into this classification.

Noticeably, the SSA built it crystal clear that the need to shield point out data “will not stop any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation found the NLC information associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, but not labeled in terms of the prescripts in the Minimum amount Info Safety Expectations (Pass up)”.

“The leakage of the related sensitive Formal NLC information to the media doesn't pose a threat to national safety,” the SSA said, introducing which the influence in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no evidence of the factual and incriminating mother nature in opposition to any from the suspected NLC employees that may be identified from the knowledge and knowledge interrogated”.

Furthermore, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer enough motive to obtain these exposed inside the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which details “stolen” through the NLC was sent for the US, wherever he claimed it had been currently being offered to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating identical statements he experienced previously built in Parliament, which provided ad hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was cautious not to call either.

“I came here With this August residence final 12 months and reported to honourable customers that information about our beneficiaries has long been stolen and put in a single point out in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We identified as to the Condition Security Company to come back explore the make a difference simply because we've been receiving reviews that our information is making cash for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There's been communicate, needless to say from a person source, one particular media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs which the SSA investigation were concluded almost a year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the guts of the looting of the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant course of action. The NLC could by itself discover a task to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to oversee it.

Just after Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued a press release stating that his remarks mirrored “a particularly risky Mindset wherever the media is becoming blamed to the NLC’s inherent problems”.

“As opposed to investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has instead tried to cast doubt to the integrity of the journalists concerned and has requested the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive jobs produced key
Safety flaws determined while in the NLC grant funding process in the SSA’s investigation, surface to have been used being an excuse through the NLC to remove all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants process.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘top secret’ and assignments were faraway from the grant funding method and managed manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Place of work, Govt Supervisor Legal in an effort to safeguard [the] information,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was loads of internal discussion, with plenty of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in the senior situation for the NLC at enough time, instructed GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to remove all of the proactive projects within the process and limit access to A few folks”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC a number of decades ago, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to build a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he utilized to create a dwelling within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The home is one of numerous paid out for with lottery money that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to higher-ups in the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which confused the NLC on their look at.

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

Each time a new administration, including the full board and government, took over within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” during the documentation referring to proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-dependent. Critical paperwork had been lacking. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and never returned.

The NLC was capable of Recuperate copies of some lottovip documents from its Mimecast email archiving process as well as laptops in their assistants and support staff.

Information stories
In his 1 December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave problem doable data security breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private details attained due to carrying out Formal features in the Commission by NLC employees. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity with the Commission although disrupting the powerful features [from the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational hurt to your Commission given that 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 corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at present struggling with a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to document the functions which transpired concerning information security breaches in the National Lotteries Fee”.

She outlined numerous information experiences which she claimed were being the final results of those “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her labeled NLC Information and persistently inspired her to deliver the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman just after attempts to raise The problem internally ended up disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 write-up while in the Each day Dispatch concerning the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene mentioned that the NLC identified after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker within the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the partner and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Along with the NLC paying R470,000 on legal professionals to signify it, but was observed not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The prevalent Think about these content articles is usually that [they involve] categorized data regarding proactive funding jobs,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the loved ones residence to take the warmth off her and his small children. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a pal.

Equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system intended to recognise the hurt a lot of people endured within the fingers of your NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, financial compensation are predicted.

“Some people have been definitely affected quite negatively by this … This is really painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day-to-day Maverick very last calendar year.

“I achieved two or three these individuals. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total lives have already been turned upside down,” stated Scholtz.

Among Those people she fulfilled have been Qhino and Makatse.

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

“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will cause employees presenting these kinds of cases outside of the NLC,” the SSA explained in its results.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it remains essential that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts and that its focus is on making sure that illegal and irregular perform is adequately mitigated versus and by guaranteeing an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without having remaining intimidated.”

It advisable which the NLC establish a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to provide information on any “untoward action” that may not stop or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based on the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is actually a necessity.”

Media studies Nene shown
A 10 December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor from the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The short article had features of knowledge not accessible in the general public domain, therefore boosting problem on interior Details stability breaches. The allegations inside the media were being independently investigated,” Nene stated. “Having said that, workers to blame for divulging categorised info have but being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 posting posted by the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations in the Limpopo Mirror post published on ten December 2017 and also a new allegation regarding a former staff because of the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the threat 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 post contained labeled information and facts when it comes to NLC policy, elevating even more problems of interior information and facts stability breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened information stability pitfalls inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it was based upon leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Entry to Information and facts) request for facts concerning the job, she said