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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Former National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Condition Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at some time stated media reviews she claimed were being depending on “stolen” information in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did examine. It observed the data was not a subject of condition safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to show it.
A completely new board and management has considering that taken more than the NLC and To date have taken measures to end corruption within the institution.
A State Stability Agency (SSA) investigation identified which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into meant “information and facts safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out right after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “private” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the purpose of NLC staff within the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified precise media and stories that she claimed included these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that even though guarding condition facts was “a lawful crucial targeted at preserving the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only applied to appropriately classified info.

Although it didn't say so directly, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not fall into this classification.

Noticeably, the SSA built it crystal clear that the need to shield point out data “will not reduce any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC details involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not labeled with regard to the prescripts on the Minimum Information Safety Criteria (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage with the applicable delicate official NLC information and facts into the media would not pose a menace to national stability,” the SSA reported, introducing the influence of your breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no proof of the factual and incriminating character in opposition to any with the suspected NLC employees that may be identified from the data and facts interrogated”.

Additionally, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver sufficient motive to acquire these kinds of uncovered within the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which data “stolen” within the NLC was sent on the US, where by he claimed it was staying marketed to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating similar claims he had Formerly made in Parliament, which bundled ad hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to call both.

“I came right here With this August dwelling last year and reported to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and put in a single point out in the usa,” he explained to MPs.

“We called over the Point out Protection Agency to return take a look at the make any difference because we have been acquiring reviews that our information and facts is creating cash for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There's been communicate, naturally from 1 supply, a person media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs that the SSA investigation had been accomplished Just about a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting of the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could by itself discover a task to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.

Following Nevhutanda first explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a statement expressing that his remarks reflected “a very hazardous Angle in which the media is remaining blamed for your NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“As opposed to investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has instead tried to cast question on the integrity of the journalists involved and it has requested the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive projects made secret
Stability flaws recognized inside the NLC grant funding method during the SSA’s investigation, surface to are already employed being an excuse because of the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘key’ and initiatives were 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 claimed 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 in a senior posture with the NLC at the time, explained to GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to remove many of the proactive assignments from the technique and Restrict access to a handful of persons”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC numerous yrs back, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He obtained R4.3-million from lottery funds allotted to make a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he used to build a dwelling within an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The home is one of several paid out for with lottery funds that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups from the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own enjoy.

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

Any time a new administration, including the whole board and govt, took around on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” during the documentation referring to proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-based. Essential paperwork have been missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage company Metrofile had been signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was ready to Get well copies of some ตรวจ หวย รัฐบาล files from its Mimecast email archiving program as well as laptops in their assistants and help workers.

News studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave concern possible information stability breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data acquired on account of doing Formal features in the Commission by NLC workforce. The routines are meant to undermine the integrity of your Fee though disrupting the effective capabilities [of your NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt to your Commission because the custodian of private facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC enterprise secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at the moment dealing with a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to history the occasions which transpired regarding information security breaches on the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She shown several information stories which she claimed ended up the effects of those “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “provided her labeled NLC Data and persistently inspired her to supply the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman after makes an attempt to lift the issue internally had been overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 post from the Daily 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 consider Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC spending R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was uncovered not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The typical Consider these articles is always that [they involve] categorized data concerning proactive funding projects,” 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 small children. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an office within an empty factory belonging to a friend.

Both of those Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the damage many people experienced with the arms on the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, fiscal payment are expected.

“Some persons were actually influenced pretty negatively by this … This is basically agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day by day Maverick last year.

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

Among those she fulfilled had been Qhino and Makatse.

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

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in personnel presenting such situations beyond the NLC,” the SSA said in its findings.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it stays important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its concentration is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated against and by making sure an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with no getting intimidated.”

It advised which the NLC set up a “Secure channel” for workers to supply info on any “untoward activity” that could not avoid or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, dependant on the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually a requirement.”

Media studies Nene mentioned
A ten December 2017 report within 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 operator with the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The short article had factors of information not accessible in the general public area, thereby boosting worry on inner Info stability breaches. The allegations from the media had been independently investigated,” Nene said. “On the other hand, personnel accountable for divulging labeled info have still to become determined”;
A 28 January 2018 posting published with the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations in the Limpopo Mirror write-up revealed on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation regarding a previous worker with the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the menace induced on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting during the Lowvelder with regard 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 report contained classified data in terms of NLC coverage, increasing further worries of inside information security breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened data protection pitfalls inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp had verified in its story that it absolutely was based upon leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Facts) request for aspects with regards to the undertaking, she reported