Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Security Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at time mentioned media studies she explained have been based on “stolen” info within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It discovered the data was not a issue of point out safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for that media to show it.
A brand new board and administration has due to the fact taken more than the NLC and Up to now have taken measures to end corruption on the institution.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation discovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished sufficient motive” for publicity via the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the purpose of NLC staff members while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined specific media and stories that she claimed involved these leaks.

From the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA advised the NLC that though defending condition information and facts was “a legal imperative geared toward defending the sovereignty and integrity from the condition” this only placed on correctly categorized details.

Although it didn't say so right, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked details did not fall into this category.

Considerably, the SSA built it very clear that the necessity to guard point out facts “will not stop any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation identified that the NLC information linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not categorized concerning the prescripts of the Minimal Details Safety Benchmarks (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage with the pertinent delicate official NLC facts to the media does not pose a threat to countrywide safety,” the SSA mentioned, adding that the impact in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature from any of your suspected NLC personnel that would be identified from the knowledge and data interrogated”.

In addition, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present ample motive to own this sort of uncovered inside the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which data “stolen” in the NLC was despatched for the US, wherever he claimed it was becoming bought to fund a smear marketing campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating similar claims he had Earlier designed in Parliament, which bundled advert hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was careful not to name possibly.

“I came right here Within this August dwelling previous calendar year and reported to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and place in a single condition in the united states,” he instructed MPs.

“We termed over the Point out Protection Agency to come explore the issue mainly because we have been acquiring reviews that our information is building income for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There have been chat, obviously from 1 supply, one media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but did not tell MPs the SSA investigation were done Nearly a yr previously.

Proactive funding was at the center with the looting of your lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant process. The NLC could itself establish a project to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

After Nevhutanda initial informed Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued a press release expressing that his remarks reflected “a particularly dangerous Angle the place the media is getting blamed with the NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“As an alternative to investigating why millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has instead attempted to Solid question on the integrity on the journalists included and it has questioned the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive tasks manufactured top secret
Stability flaws discovered in the NLC grant funding method through the SSA’s investigation, seem to have already been employed as an justification because of the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘secret’ and jobs have been faraway from the grant funding technique and maintained manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Business office, Govt Manager Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] data,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was many interior discussion, with plenty of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside a senior place in the NLC at some time, instructed GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to eliminate all of the proactive projects in the program and limit usage of a handful of folks”.

Some in that handful of individuals were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC numerous years ago, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He been given R4.three-million from lottery funds allocated to construct a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to make a house within an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The property is one of several compensated for with lottery cash which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near large-ups from the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which overcome the NLC on their check out.

Also implicated are former board members William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have given that died.

Every time a new administration, such as the entire board and executive, took above for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” in the documentation referring to proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-dependent. Essential documents were being missing. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage organization Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was capable of Get better copies of some หวย documents from its Mimecast email archiving system as well as laptops of their assistants and assistance team.

News reports
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave concern attainable info protection breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts obtained because of undertaking Formal capabilities within the Commission by NLC staff. The functions are meant to undermine the integrity with the Fee even though disrupting the productive features [on the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational damage for the Fee given that the custodian of non-public details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for to the SSA to investigate was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently experiencing a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to file the gatherings which transpired relating to details protection breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She mentioned various news reports which she claimed were the results of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorised NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to offer the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman following makes an attempt to lift the issue internally have been disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 write-up from the Every day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene said that the NLC identified after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker while in the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the lover plus the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC spending R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was uncovered not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The typical Consider these articles is the fact [they contain] categorized data concerning proactive funding tasks,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the spouse and children home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Business within an empty factory belonging to an acquaintance.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the harm lots of people endured at the fingers of your NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, economical compensation are predicted.

“Some individuals have been seriously afflicted extremely negatively by this … This is de facto distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Daily Maverick final year.

“I met a few these folks. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their full life are already turned upside down,” stated Scholtz.

Among the All those she satisfied were Qhino and Makatse.

Harmless platform needed for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at the time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn on the media.

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

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it continues to be essential that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its focus is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated towards and by ensuring an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform devoid of currently being intimidated.”

It advisable that the NLC create a “Protected channel” for workers to supply info on any “untoward activity” that may not avoid or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based on the Safeguarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a necessity.”

Media stories Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report inside 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 with the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The report had components of information not available in the general public domain, thus increasing problem on internal Information and facts safety breaches. The allegations within the media were being independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Nonetheless, employees to blame for divulging classified facts have however to get discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 post revealed via the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations from the Limpopo Mirror report printed on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation referring to a former personnel by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the danger caused for the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article during the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder short article contained labeled data with regards to NLC plan, raising even more issues of inner data security breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened details safety pitfalls in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it was according to leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Facts) request for details concerning the project, she reported