Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Agency to research leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Stability Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at enough time stated media experiences she reported were being depending on “stolen” details in an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It identified the data was not a make a difference of point out safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to expose it.
A new board and management has since taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken measures to end corruption for the establishment.
A State Security Agency (SSA) investigation located the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered ample motive” for publicity by the media.

The probe into supposed “info security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote into the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here is

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

During the letter outlining its findings, the SSA advised the NLC that when guarding condition data was “a authorized very important aimed at guarding the sovereignty and integrity in the state” this only applied to correctly categorised facts.

Even though it did not say so straight, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked details did not slide into this class.

Considerably, the SSA built it crystal clear that the need to guard state information and facts “isn't going to prevent any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC information associated with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not categorised when it comes to the prescripts in the Least Facts Stability Benchmarks (MISS)”.

“The leakage of the relevant delicate Formal NLC details for the media will not pose a threat to countrywide safety,” the SSA said, introducing the impact with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature towards any of the suspected NLC workforce that might be recognized from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.

In addition, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply enough motive to get this kind of exposed in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, business and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where info “stolen” from your NLC was despatched to your US, the place he claimed it absolutely was remaining bought to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating very similar statements he experienced Beforehand created in Parliament, which involved ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call possibly.

“I arrived right here During this August home previous 12 months and described to honourable users that specifics of our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and put in one point out in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We identified as to the Condition Safety Company to come back investigate the make a difference since we've been finding studies that our info is building funds for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There was speak, not surprisingly from 1 supply, a person media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation had been finished Practically a 12 months previously.

Proactive funding was at the center on the looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant method. The NLC could itself determine a project to fund and appoint a non-profit organisation to supervise it.

Immediately after Nevhutanda 1st informed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement saying that his remarks reflected “an incredibly unsafe attitude the place the media is being blamed for your NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“Instead of investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has in its place made an effort to Forged question to the integrity of your journalists associated and it has requested the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive jobs built solution
Protection flaws recognized within the NLC grant funding system in the SSA’s investigation, show up to have already been used as an justification through the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘top secret’ and tasks ended up faraway from the grant funding procedure and maintained manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Business, Govt Supervisor Authorized so as to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene said in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of interior dialogue, with a great deal of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was within a senior place at the NLC at enough time, informed GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to get rid of many of the proactive initiatives with the technique and limit usage of a handful of individuals”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC several yrs ago, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.3-million from lottery cash allotted to construct a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to make a home in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The assets is among several paid for with lottery funds 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 confused the NLC on their check out.

Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has considering the fact that died.

Every time a new administration, such as the overall board and executive, took in excess of for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation relating to proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-primarily based. Critical paperwork ended up lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was capable of Get well copies of some เช ค หวย paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving process and also the laptops of their assistants and aid workers.

Information reports
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave concern attainable information security breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data received because of executing Formal features in the Commission by NLC staff. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission though disrupting the efficient functions [on the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Commission given that the custodian of private facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at present facing a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in legal action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to record the functions which transpired concerning data stability breaches on the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She mentioned numerous news reports which she claimed had been the outcomes of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its employees, Sello Qhino, experienced “offered her classified NLC Facts and persistently encouraged her to deliver the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman immediately after attempts to boost The difficulty internally have been disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 article while in the Day by day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene reported that the NLC identified then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel from the NLC’s East London Business, who was the companion as well as mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Using the NLC shelling out R470,000 on attorneys to stand for it, but was found not responsible and permitted to return to operate.

“The widespread Consider these articles or blog posts is the fact [they require] labeled details referring to proactive funding tasks,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the household residence to go ahead and take heat off her and his small children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an vacant factory belonging to a buddy.

Both Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the hurt a number of people experienced at the fingers with the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, monetary compensation are anticipated.

“Some men and women were being really affected incredibly negatively by this … This is basically distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day-to-day Maverick past yr.

“I fulfilled two or three these people. It was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives happen to be turned upside down,” stated Scholtz.

Among those she achieved were being Qhino and Makatse.

Protected System required for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at some time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn on the media.

“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will result in workers presenting these kinds of scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its results.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it continues to be important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its emphasis is on making certain that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated from and by making certain an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without staying intimidated.”

It advised the NLC establish a “Risk-free channel” for workers to deliver information on any “untoward activity” that could not prevent or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, dependant on the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, can be a prerequisite.”

Media experiences Nene listed
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor on the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The article experienced factors of information not out there in the public area, therefore raising worry on internal Information and facts safety breaches. The allegations during the media had been independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Nonetheless, employees answerable for divulging classified details have nonetheless to be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 short article published through the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations within the Limpopo Mirror article published on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation concerning a previous personnel through the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that risk caused into the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article while in the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC resources 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 completed. “The Lowvelder write-up contained labeled information with regards to NLC coverage, increasing further more concerns of internal details safety breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened facts safety hazards within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Primary Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it had been according to leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Data) ask for for specifics about the task, she reported