Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to analyze leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Point out Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at the time shown media stories she mentioned ended up dependant on “stolen” data in an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the information wasn't a issue of point out protection and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” with the media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has given that taken around the NLC and So far have taken actions to finish corruption at the institution.
A State Safety Company (SSA) investigation uncovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied ample motive” for exposure from the media.

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

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” conclusions and recommendations.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to investigate the job of NLC personnel within the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit identified distinct media and reports that she claimed concerned these leaks.

During the letter outlining its findings, the SSA informed the NLC that when guarding state data was “a authorized vital directed at guarding the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only placed on correctly labeled facts.

Although it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked info didn't drop into this category.

Noticeably, the SSA designed it obvious that the necessity to guard state data “doesn't protect against any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation discovered the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not categorized with regard to the prescripts of your Minimum Info Security Specifications (Skip)”.

“The leakage in the pertinent sensitive Formal NLC facts on the media isn't going to pose a threat to countrywide safety,” the SSA stated, introducing the impact with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no proof of a factual and incriminating character against any on the suspected NLC employees that can be discovered from the information and knowledge interrogated”.

Additionally, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present enough motive to obtain such exposed in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information “stolen” from the NLC was despatched towards the US, where he claimed it had been becoming bought to fund a smear campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating comparable statements he experienced previously designed in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was careful not to name either.

“I came listed here During this August property previous calendar year and noted to honourable users that specifics of our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and put in one state in America,” he advised MPs.

“We identified as to the State Stability Agency to come back look into the matter because we've been having stories that our information and facts is creating money for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There's been chat, not surprisingly from a person supply, one particular media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs the SSA investigation were finished Just about a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the guts of the looting of the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant course of action. The NLC could by itself recognize a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to supervise it.

Immediately after Nevhutanda 1st informed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement indicating that his remarks reflected “an incredibly hazardous Angle in which the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively attempted to Solid doubt within the integrity on the journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to analyze their sources.”

Proactive tasks produced magic formula
Stability flaws determined while in the NLC grant funding program throughout the SSA’s investigation, surface to are employed being an excuse because of the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘secret’ and assignments were being faraway from the grant funding method and taken care of manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Business, Govt Supervisor Authorized so as to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was many interior dialogue, with plenty of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was within a senior placement with the NLC at enough time, advised GroundUp. “Ultimately, the decision was taken to remove all the proactive jobs with the technique and limit usage of a handful of individuals”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC quite a few several years back, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery funds allocated to make a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he used to construct a household within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The property is one of numerous paid out for with lottery money that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device attained a preservation buy in December 2022.

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

Also implicated are former board users William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got given that died.

Any time a new administration, including the total board and govt, took more than with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” within the documentation associated with proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-based. Important documents had been missing. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.

The NLC was ready to Get better copies of some หวย รัฐบาล paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving system as well as the laptops of their assistants and assist staff members.

Information stories
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave problem achievable details security breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private data acquired as a result of undertaking official capabilities inside the Fee by NLC personnel. The actions are meant to undermine the integrity of the Commission though disrupting the successful capabilities [of the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Commission as being the custodian of private information entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for your SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at the moment facing a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to document the activities which transpired referring to info protection breaches at the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She shown a variety of information reports which she claimed were the final results of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).

Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, had “provided her categorised NLC Information and facts and persistently inspired her to provide the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman after makes an attempt to lift the issue internally ended up ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 posting during the Each day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene mentioned which the NLC determined after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff while in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the husband or wife as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Along with the NLC spending R470,000 on lawyers to signify it, but was identified not guilty and allowed to return to work.

“The common Think about these articles is that [they contain] categorised facts regarding proactive funding assignments,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the spouse and children property to take the heat off her and his children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Place of work within an vacant factory belonging to a buddy.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the harm a number of people experienced within the hands from the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, fiscal compensation are anticipated.

“Some men and women have been genuinely impacted really negatively by this … This is basically painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Day by day Maverick very last yr.

“I met a handful of these men and women. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their whole lives have been turned the wrong way up,” said Scholtz.

Between These she fulfilled were being Qhino and Makatse.

Protected System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered the absence at enough time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show into the media.

“Failure to possess a dedicated anti-corruption channel will result in staff presenting these kinds of scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA explained in its results.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it stays vital that it ensures that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its concentrate is on making sure that illegal and irregular perform is adequately mitigated against and by guaranteeing an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without having remaining intimidated.”

It advised which the NLC establish a “Risk-free channel” for workers to deliver information on any “untoward activity” that might not reduce or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, determined by the Secured Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is usually a need.”

Media experiences 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 closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator with the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The article experienced components of data not offered in the public domain, thus elevating worry on internal Facts security breaches. The allegations from the media were independently investigated,” Nene explained. “However, staff chargeable for divulging classified info have nevertheless being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 posting published by the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations in the Limpopo Mirror post published on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation regarding a former staff because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the threat brought about for the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 write-up in the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Despite receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been concluded. “The Lowvelder article contained categorized data concerning NLC policy, raising additional considerations of inner data protection breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened data safety risks throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp had verified in its story that it absolutely was depending on leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Usage of Details) ask for for details with regards to the project, she explained