Lottery bosses turned to Point out Safety Company to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Safety Company to research leaks

Blog Article

Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Security Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at enough time listed media stories she reported were based upon “stolen” information and facts within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the data was not a make a difference of point out protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for that media to expose it.
A new board and administration has considering that taken more than the NLC and To date have taken measures to end corruption within the institution.
A Condition Stability Company (SSA) investigation identified the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied ample motive” for exposure via the media.

The probe into supposed “information and facts safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the job of NLC employees within the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined particular media and experiences that she claimed concerned these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA instructed the NLC that while guarding state data was “a authorized essential aimed toward guarding the sovereignty and integrity from the point out” this only applied to correctly classified facts.

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

Noticeably, the SSA created it very clear that the necessity to secure point out facts “doesn't avoid any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation located the NLC data involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, although not classified when it comes to the prescripts of your Bare minimum Data Security Criteria (Pass up)”.

“The leakage from the pertinent sensitive official NLC info for the media will not pose a risk to national stability,” the SSA reported, incorporating that the affect on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature in opposition to any in the suspected NLC personnel that might be identified from the data and knowledge interrogated”.

In addition, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply sufficient motive to obtain this kind of exposed inside the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitors 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 comparable promises he had Earlier produced in Parliament, which involved ad hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was cautious not to name both.

“I arrived here In this particular August house final yr and described to honourable users that information about our beneficiaries is stolen and put in one state in the usa,” he told MPs.

“We called on the Point out Protection Agency to come take a look at the make any difference for the reason that we have been acquiring experiences that our facts is creating money for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There's been communicate, naturally from one supply, a person media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs the SSA investigation had been accomplished Pretty much a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the guts of the looting from the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant process. The NLC could alone determine a project to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to supervise it.

Following Nevhutanda 1st explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a press release saying that his remarks reflected “a very unsafe Perspective exactly where the media is remaining blamed to the NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“Rather than investigating why millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively made an effort to cast doubt to the integrity in the journalists associated and has questioned the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive projects manufactured solution
Stability flaws recognized inside the NLC grant funding system in the SSA’s investigation, show up to have been applied being an justification by the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘mystery’ and jobs were being faraway from the grant funding system and taken care of manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Workplace, Executive Supervisor Legal to be able to safeguard [the] data,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was loads of inner dialogue, with plenty of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was within a senior situation for the NLC at enough time, advised GroundUp. “Ultimately, the decision was taken to remove each of the proactive assignments with the process and limit access to A few persons”.

Some in that handful of men and women have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC a number of years ago, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He received R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to create 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 progress in Pretoria. The residence is one of numerous paid for with lottery resources that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to significant-ups inside the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which confused the NLC on their look at.

Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned right after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have given that died.

Each time a new administration, including the total board and government, took in excess of with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” from the documentation regarding proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-dependent. Essential documents were being missing. Files held for safekeeping by document storage business Metrofile were signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was in a position to Get well copies of some ตรวจ หวย รัฐบาล paperwork from its Mimecast email archiving system and the laptops in their assistants and assistance staff.

Information reports
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave concern doable details stability breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information acquired due to performing official functions while in the Fee by NLC staff members. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity of the Commission while disrupting the efficient functions [of the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational hurt into the Commission because the custodian of personal information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at this time going through a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to record the functions which transpired concerning info safety breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She mentioned various information experiences which she claimed were being the results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

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

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman right after tries to raise The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 short article within the Day-to-day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene mentioned the NLC determined and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff during the NLC’s East London office, who was the partner and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Along with the NLC paying R470,000 on legal professionals to characterize it, but was identified not guilty and permitted to return to work.

“The common Think about these content is the fact [they include] labeled information and facts concerning proactive funding tasks,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the relatives residence to take the warmth off her and his small children. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to an acquaintance.

Both Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation course of action meant to recognise the damage a number of people suffered at the palms on the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, money compensation are anticipated.

“Some people ended up genuinely impacted very negatively by this … This is de facto agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Daily Maverick previous year.

“I fulfilled a handful of these men and women. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their whole life have already been turned the wrong way up,” claimed Scholtz.

Between All those she fulfilled have been Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in staff members presenting this sort of cases outside of the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its findings.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it stays important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its focus is on making certain that illegal and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated against and by making sure an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without being intimidated.”

It recommended which the NLC set up a “Secure channel” for employees to deliver information on any “untoward activity” that would not stop or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based upon the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a prerequisite.”

Media reviews Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor with the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The short article experienced elements of information not obtainable in the public domain, thereby raising concern on internal Info security breaches. The allegations within the media were being independently investigated,” Nene reported. “On the other hand, personnel chargeable for divulging categorized information and facts have nevertheless to be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 short article published through the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations from the Limpopo Mirror post revealed on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation regarding a previous personnel with the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the danger prompted to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 post within the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC funds 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 write-up contained categorised details concerning NLC policy, increasing further more considerations of inside information and facts security breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened facts protection challenges in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it had been depending on leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Data) request for facts in regards to the venture, she claimed