Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at some time mentioned media studies she said were depending on “stolen” information and facts in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It observed the information was not a issue of condition safety and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for the media to reveal it.
A new board and administration has considering the fact that taken around the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption within the institution.
A Condition Protection Agency (SSA) investigation located that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided sufficient motive” for publicity via the media.

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

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at this time suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “confidential” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the function of NLC staff during the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered specific media and reports that she claimed involved these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its findings, the SSA explained to the NLC that when preserving state information and facts was “a legal very important targeted at shielding the sovereignty and integrity from the condition” this only placed on appropriately categorized info.

Although it did not say so specifically, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked facts didn't drop into this class.

Drastically, the SSA manufactured it very clear that the need to protect point out data “will not prevent any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation found the NLC info involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not categorised regarding the prescripts of the Bare minimum Information and facts Security Specifications (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage of your relevant sensitive Formal NLC information towards the media will not pose a risk to national security,” the SSA said, adding which the affect on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature versus any with the suspected NLC personnel that might be discovered from the knowledge and details interrogated”.

What's more, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide ample motive to acquire this kind of exposed from the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which details “stolen” through the NLC was sent for the US, in which he claimed it was being bought to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating identical statements he experienced Earlier produced in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call either.

“I arrived here In this particular August house previous calendar year and noted to honourable associates that specifics of our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and put in one state in America,” he informed MPs.

“We known as around the Point out Safety Company to come consider the make any difference mainly because we are receiving experiences that our details is creating income for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There was discuss, of course from one particular supply, just one media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but didn't notify MPs that the SSA investigation were completed almost a yr previously.

Proactive funding was at the heart of the looting of your lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant procedure. The NLC could by itself establish a project to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to oversee it.

Soon after Nevhutanda initially explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued a press release stating that his remarks mirrored “an especially dangerous Frame of mind exactly where the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Instead of investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has rather tried to cast doubt around the integrity in the journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to analyze their sources.”

Proactive assignments manufactured mystery
Safety flaws identified in the NLC grant funding procedure over the SSA’s investigation, look to have already been used as an justification through the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and initiatives were being removed from the grant funding program and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Place of work, Government Manager Legal as a way to safeguard [the] data,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was many inside discussion, with plenty of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior position for the NLC at time, told GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to eliminate each of the proactive jobs through the system and limit usage of A few folks”.

Some in that handful of folks were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC quite a few many years ago, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He gained R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to develop a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he applied to develop a property in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The property is among numerous paid for with lottery cash that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to substantial-ups within the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their observe.

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

Each time a new administration, including the total board and executive, took above on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” within the documentation referring to proactive funding, much of which was paper-centered. Critical paperwork were missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage company Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.

The NLC was in the position to Get well copies of some หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 วัน นี้ files from its Mimecast email archiving program plus the laptops in their assistants and aid staff.

News studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave problem achievable details safety breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information and facts received as a result of performing Formal functions during the Commission by NLC employees. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity on the Fee although disrupting the helpful functions [with the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational damage into the Fee because the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at present going through a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to history the situations which transpired relating to details security breaches on the National Lotteries Fee”.

She shown a variety of information reviews which she claimed were being the effects of those “breaches” (see at the end of this post).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “offered her classified NLC Info and persistently inspired her to deliver the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman just after makes an attempt to raise The problem internally were overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 article in the Each day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene stated the NLC determined and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee within the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the lover and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 kids.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Using the NLC spending R470,000 on attorneys to represent it, but was located not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The prevalent factor in these articles or blog posts is that [they include] labeled information and facts referring to proactive funding assignments,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Business in an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a buddy.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the hurt lots of people endured within the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, financial compensation are predicted.

“Some people ended up really affected quite negatively by this … This is admittedly painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day-to-day Maverick very last 12 months.

“I fulfilled two or three these individuals. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total lives have already been turned upside down,” said Scholtz.

Among the All those she fulfilled had been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe System required for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at enough time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to the media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in staff members presenting this kind of scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its results.

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it continues to be crucial that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its concentrate is on ensuring that illegal and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated from and by making certain an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with out being intimidated.”

It proposed the NLC establish a “Harmless channel” for employees to provide information on any “untoward exercise” that might not stop or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based upon the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually 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 Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The posting experienced things of knowledge not offered in the public area, therefore elevating concern on interior Data safety breaches. The allegations in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Nevertheless, workforce answerable for divulging classified data have however being identified”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up released by the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations with the Limpopo Mirror posting published on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation referring to a former employee from the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that menace induced for the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting from the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, Regardless of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder short article contained classified facts with regards to NLC coverage, boosting more fears of internal details protection breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened information security risks within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it absolutely was determined by leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Usage of Facts) request for aspects with regards to the undertaking, she reported