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 Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Condition Stability Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at time shown media reports she stated had been based upon “stolen” information and facts within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did examine. It identified the information wasn't a matter of point out protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” to the media to reveal it.
A different board and administration has given that taken over the NLC and To this point have taken steps to finish corruption with the institution.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation discovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided ample motive” for exposure through the media.

The probe into meant “information stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote into the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the purpose of NLC team inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified unique media and stories that she claimed included these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its findings, the SSA instructed the NLC that although guarding condition information and facts was “a legal essential targeted at preserving the sovereignty and integrity of the point out” this only placed on correctly labeled facts.

Even though it did not say so straight, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked data did not fall into this classification.

Noticeably, the SSA designed it obvious that the need to guard state information “won't stop any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation found that the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not labeled in terms of the prescripts in the Least Information and facts Stability Standards (MISS)”.

“The leakage from the related delicate Formal NLC facts on the media isn't going to pose a risk to countrywide protection,” the SSA mentioned, adding which the effect of the breaches was reputational.

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

Additionally, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver enough motive to possess these kinds of uncovered from the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which info “stolen” in the NLC was despatched to your US, the place he claimed it was remaining offered to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating related statements he had Earlier produced in Parliament, which involved ad hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call possibly.

“I came listed here During this August home final 12 months and described to honourable customers that specifics of our beneficiaries has been stolen and set in a single condition in the united states,” he advised MPs.

“We referred to as within the State Stability Agency to come look into the make any difference mainly because we're getting experiences that our data is generating dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There have been discuss, certainly from a single supply, one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but failed to tell MPs that the SSA investigation had been accomplished Just about a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the center with the looting with the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant approach. The NLC could by itself recognize a venture to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda 1st instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued a press release saying that his remarks mirrored “an incredibly perilous Angle where by the media is being blamed with the NLC’s inherent problems”.

“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute attempted to Solid question within the integrity of the journalists associated and it has requested the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive jobs created mystery
Protection flaws recognized inside the NLC grant funding technique over the SSA’s investigation, appear to have already been utilized being an excuse from the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘solution’ and tasks ended up faraway from the grant funding program and managed manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Business, Executive Manager Legal in an effort to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was lots of internal dialogue, with lots of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in the senior placement on the NLC at the time, told GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to eliminate the many proactive tasks from the process and limit use of A few men and women”.

Some in that handful of people have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC numerous decades ago, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He received R4.3-million from lottery funds allocated to construct a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he made use of to build a house within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The residence is one of a number of compensated for with lottery resources which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation order in December 2022.

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

Also implicated are previous board associates William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got considering that died.

Whenever a new administration, such as the entire board and government, took over with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation concerning proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-centered. Key documents have been missing. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was able to recover copies of some ตรวจ หวย ลาว paperwork from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving method plus the laptops in their assistants and support workers.

News studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave worry doable information and facts stability breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private data acquired as a result of performing Formal functions in the Fee by NLC staff. The actions are meant to undermine the integrity in the Fee although disrupting the effective features [of your NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Fee given that the custodian of personal data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for with the SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC business secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at the moment struggling with a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to document the occasions which transpired relating to information and facts protection breaches with the National Lotteries Fee”.

She detailed various information reports which she claimed ended up the outcome of such “breaches” (see at the end of this article).

Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to deliver the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman right after attempts to raise the issue internally were ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 posting during the Day by day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene mentioned that the NLC determined then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee during the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the companion as well as mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 children.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Together with the NLC spending R470,000 on lawyers to symbolize it, but was observed not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The frequent Consider these articles or blog posts is the fact [they require] labeled data associated with proactive funding tasks,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the spouse and children household to take the warmth off her and his youngsters. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Business in an empty manufacturing unit belonging to an acquaintance.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the hurt lots of people endured in the arms on the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, monetary payment are anticipated.

“Some individuals ended up truly influenced very negatively by this … This is admittedly distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Every day Maverick last calendar year.

“I fulfilled several these folks. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their whole lives happen to be turned the other way up,” stated Scholtz.

Between Individuals she fulfilled were Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free 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 towards the media.

“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will cause personnel presenting these types of cases beyond the NLC,” the SSA reported in its conclusions.

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it remains very important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentration is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated from and by making certain an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without currently being intimidated.”

It suggested the NLC build a “Secure channel” for workers to deliver info on any “untoward activity” that might not reduce or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, determined by the Secured Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is usually a need.”

Media reports Nene listed
A ten December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator with the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The post experienced factors of data not readily available in the public area, thereby elevating issue on inner Information and facts safety breaches. The allegations during the media have been independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Nonetheless, staff members liable for divulging labeled information and facts have yet to become recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 report released because of the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations within the Limpopo Mirror posting posted on ten December 2017 as well as a new allegation associated with a former personnel with the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your danger 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 challenges inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Major Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it had been based on leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Use of Info) ask for for details with regards to the venture, she explained