Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to investigate leaks

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Former Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Stability Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at enough time mentioned media reports she said were depending on “stolen” data in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the information wasn't a issue of state protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has due to the fact taken more than the NLC and To date have taken steps to end corruption on the institution.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation found that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered sufficient motive” for exposure through the media.

The probe into intended “information and facts safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out right after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at this time suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the position of NLC employees within the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified precise media and stories that she claimed involved these leaks.

From the letter outlining its results, the SSA informed the NLC that although safeguarding state information was “a lawful vital geared toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity on the point out” this only placed on correctly categorised info.

Although it did not say so directly, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked info did not fall into this category.

Significantly, the SSA created it crystal clear that the necessity to protect point out information “does not prevent any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation found that the NLC data involved with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not classified concerning the prescripts of the Minimal Data Protection Standards (MISS)”.

“The leakage from the pertinent sensitive Formal NLC information and facts into the media won't pose a menace to national security,” the SSA reported, incorporating that the effects with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature in opposition to any of the suspected NLC staff members that might be discovered from the information and knowledge interrogated”.

Additionally, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply sufficient motive to obtain this kind of exposed inside the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which info “stolen” in the NLC was despatched on the US, where by he claimed it absolutely was remaining marketed to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating related claims he had previously made in Parliament, which involved ad hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call either.

“I came below During this August property final year and described to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries has been stolen and put in one condition in the united states,” he explained to MPs.

“We called within the State Security Company to come back investigate the subject mainly because we have been receiving reviews that our data is creating income for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There was chat, needless to say from 1 resource, a person media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but failed to explain to MPs that the SSA investigation had been accomplished Practically a yr previously.

Proactive funding was at the heart on the looting of the lottery. It aspect-stepped the traditional grant approach. The NLC could itself identify a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-profit organisation to oversee it.

Soon after Nevhutanda initially explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued a press release stating that his remarks mirrored “an extremely dangerous Mindset exactly where the media is remaining blamed for the NLC’s inherent issues”.

“As an alternative to investigating why hundreds of thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively made an effort to cast doubt around the integrity with the journalists concerned and has requested the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive jobs manufactured secret
Safety flaws recognized during the NLC grant funding system in the SSA’s investigation, surface to are already used as an excuse with the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘key’ and projects ended up removed from the grant funding procedure and managed manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Place of work, Executive Supervisor Legal as a way to safeguard [the] info,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was loads of internal discussion, with a lot of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a senior place on the NLC at some time, advised GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to remove all the proactive initiatives from your procedure and limit access to A few men and women”.

Some in that handful of people were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC several several years back, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He gained R4.three-million from lottery resources allotted to make a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he utilised to make a dwelling within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The property is among various paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired a preservation order in December 2022.

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

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

Whenever a new administration, including the whole board and executive, took more than with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation concerning proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based mostly. Critical paperwork ended up lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage organization Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was capable to Recuperate copies of some ตรวจ รางวัล paperwork from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving system as well as the laptops of their assistants and assist team.

Information stories
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave worry attainable facts safety breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts attained because of executing Formal features within the Fee by NLC workers. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity of your Commission when disrupting the successful capabilities [of the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational hurt for the Commission as being the custodian of private info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is now facing a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in legal motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her view.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to history the gatherings which transpired associated with details stability breaches for the National Lotteries Fee”.

She outlined many news experiences which she claimed had been the effects of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).

Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, experienced “delivered her classified NLC Info and persistently encouraged her to supply the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman right after attempts to raise The difficulty internally were being overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 write-up within the Daily Dispatch concerning the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene explained that the NLC determined after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff while in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the husband or wife as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, While using the NLC investing R470,000 on lawyers to symbolize it, but was located not guilty and allowed to return to work.

“The typical factor in these posts is the fact that [they include] classified information concerning proactive funding initiatives,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family members dwelling to take the warmth off her and his young children. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Business office within an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a colleague.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method intended to recognise the hurt some individuals suffered within the palms in the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, fiscal compensation are envisioned.

“Some men and women have been really impacted quite negatively by this … This is actually distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Daily Maverick final year.

“I met several these individuals. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their total life have been turned upside down,” said Scholtz.

Among the Individuals she fulfilled have been Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free platform desired for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to personnel presenting these kinds of instances outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its results.

“Given the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it remains very important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its emphasis is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated towards and by making certain an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out devoid of staying intimidated.”

It proposed the NLC create a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward exercise” that might not avoid or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based upon the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a prerequisite.”

Media reports Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner on the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The posting experienced things of knowledge not readily available in the general public domain, thereby raising issue on inside Facts safety breaches. The allegations from the media had been independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Nonetheless, staff answerable for divulging classified information and facts have still for being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 report published because of the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations with the Limpopo Mirror article printed on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation relating to a former employee through the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed to the menace prompted into the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report while in the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been done. “The Lowvelder write-up contained classified facts with regards to NLC plan, raising even more concerns of inner facts security breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened information security dangers 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 claimed GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it had been depending on leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Information and facts) request for details about the job, she mentioned