Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

Former Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the State Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at some time detailed media experiences she mentioned were being dependant on “stolen” data within an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It located the data wasn't a matter of state safety and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” to the media to reveal it.
A completely new board and administration has since taken over the NLC and thus far have taken steps to finish corruption on the institution.
A Point out Protection Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered enough motive” for exposure by the media.

The probe into intended “info stability breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken after 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 at this time suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “confidential” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the job of NLC staff inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized particular media and reviews that she claimed involved these leaks.

In the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA instructed the NLC that when safeguarding state information was “a authorized very important directed at protecting the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only applied to correctly categorised facts.

Even though it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not drop into this group.

Substantially, the SSA made it clear that the necessity to secure point out information and facts “will not reduce any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC details associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not categorised regarding the prescripts with the Least Data Protection Specifications (Pass up)”.

“The leakage of your appropriate delicate official NLC details to the media does not pose a menace to countrywide security,” the SSA claimed, adding which the affect from the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no proof of the factual and incriminating character against any of the suspected NLC workers that can be recognized from the information and data interrogated”.

In addition, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply enough motive to own this sort of uncovered within the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which information and facts “stolen” from the NLC was sent towards the US, in which he claimed it had been currently being offered to fund a smear campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent claims he experienced Earlier designed in Parliament, which provided ad hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was cautious not to call both.

“I arrived below In this particular August dwelling previous year and documented to honourable associates that details about our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and set in a single condition in America,” he instructed MPs.

“We called about the Point out Stability Company to come explore the subject since we have been receiving stories that our information and facts is building revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There have been communicate, certainly from just one supply, 1 media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not tell MPs the SSA investigation were concluded Nearly a 12 months earlier.

Proactive funding was at the center of your looting in the lottery. It aspect-stepped the traditional grant method. The NLC could by itself detect a venture to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda initial informed Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement declaring that his remarks reflected “an extremely dangerous attitude where by the media is staying blamed to the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“Instead of investigating why tens of millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has instead attempted to Forged doubt about the integrity of the journalists concerned and it has questioned the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive assignments designed magic formula
Safety flaws determined from the NLC grant funding system through the SSA’s investigation, look to are already applied being an excuse from the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and jobs were being removed from the grant funding method and managed manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business office, Government Supervisor Lawful in an effort to safeguard [the] info,” Nene said in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inside dialogue, with a great deal of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in a senior place for the NLC at some time, told GroundUp. “Ultimately, the decision was taken to remove many of the proactive assignments within the system and limit entry to a handful of folks”.

Some in that handful of individuals had been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC many several years ago, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He been given R4.3-million from lottery resources allocated to create a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he used to create a household 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 order in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to substantial-ups while in the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their own observe.

Also implicated are previous board associates William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has since died.

Each time a new administration, such as the whole board and government, took around in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they uncovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation referring to proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-centered. Key files were lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage firm Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was capable of Recuperate copies of some หวย ไทยรัฐ documents from its Mimecast email archiving program plus the laptops in their assistants and assist staff members.

Information studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave issue doable data safety breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private data obtained due to executing Formal functions from the Commission by NLC staff members. The actions are meant to undermine the integrity of the Commission when disrupting the effective features [on the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational harm for the Commission since the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for that SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC firm secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at the moment going through a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to history the gatherings which transpired referring to information safety breaches at the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.

She outlined several information reviews which she claimed ended up the results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this information).

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

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman immediately after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally have been ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 write-up within the Day by day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene claimed that the NLC recognized and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker from the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the lover and the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC spending R470,000 on legal professionals to stand for it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The widespread factor in these articles is usually that [they require] categorized information regarding proactive funding tasks,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family residence to go ahead and take warmth off her and his kids. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an empty factory belonging to a buddy.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the hurt lots of people experienced for the palms on the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, money compensation are expected.

“Some people today ended up actually affected pretty negatively by this … This is de facto painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Everyday Maverick past yr.

“I achieved a few these persons. It was just so heart-wrenching that their complete life have been turned upside down,” mentioned Scholtz.

Between Those people she achieved were Qhino and Makatse.

Secure platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show into the media.

“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will result in employees presenting these types of scenarios outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its results.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it stays crucial that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its aim is on making sure that unlawful and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated towards and by making sure an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without having remaining intimidated.”

It suggested that the NLC set up a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to deliver info on any “untoward exercise” that may not prevent or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based on the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is usually a prerequisite.”

Media studies Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor on the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The report had components of data not out there in the public area, thereby increasing concern on interior Information protection breaches. The allegations within the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene said. “On the other hand, workers chargeable for divulging classified info have but to become identified”;
A 28 January 2018 post posted by the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations from the Limpopo Mirror short article revealed on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation regarding a former employee by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for your danger induced for the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report in the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Despite receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been completed. “The Lowvelder post contained classified details with regards to NLC coverage, elevating even more worries of inner data safety breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened facts security pitfalls within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it absolutely was according to leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Use of Information and facts) ask for for aspects regarding the task, she explained

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