Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Stability Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at the time shown media reviews she claimed were according to “stolen” information and facts in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It uncovered the knowledge wasn't a matter of state safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to reveal it.
A new board and management has considering the fact that taken more than the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption with the institution.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for publicity by the media.

The probe into supposed “information stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “private” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the function of NLC employees during the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit identified precise media and studies that she claimed involved these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA explained to the NLC that although shielding condition data was “a lawful vital aimed toward safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of your condition” this only applied to properly labeled information.

Even though it didn't say so right, the SSA results implied that the allegedly leaked data didn't tumble into this group.

Noticeably, the SSA produced it distinct that the necessity to protect point out details “would not stop any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation found the NLC details associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, although not categorized with regards to the prescripts from the Bare minimum Information Safety Benchmarks (MISS)”.

“The leakage in the appropriate delicate Formal NLC facts to the media doesn't pose a threat to national stability,” the SSA said, introducing the effect in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature versus any with the suspected NLC staff that can be identified from the knowledge and information interrogated”.

It also said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide sufficient motive to acquire these exposed from the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which data “stolen” in the NLC was sent to your US, exactly where he claimed it absolutely was staying sold to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating similar promises he had Earlier created in Parliament, which incorporated ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to name both.

“I came here in this August property last 12 months and described to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries is stolen and place in a single state in America,” he advised MPs.

“We called within the Condition Safety Agency to come consider the issue mainly because we have been having stories that our data is creating funds for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There has been communicate, not surprisingly from a single source, just one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but did not tell MPs that the SSA investigation were done Virtually a calendar year earlier.

Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting of your lottery. It facet-stepped the normal grant approach. The NLC could by itself detect a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to supervise it.

Following Nevhutanda very first explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued a press release saying that his remarks mirrored “an incredibly dangerous attitude where the media is remaining blamed with the NLC’s inherent problems”.

“Rather than investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has instead made an effort to Forged doubt over the integrity on the journalists included and has asked the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive initiatives made key
Security flaws recognized while in the NLC grant funding method throughout the SSA’s investigation, seem to happen to be applied as an justification by the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘solution’ and projects have been faraway from the grant funding procedure and managed manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Place of work, Govt Manager Authorized as a way to safeguard [the] information,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of internal discussion, with a great deal of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in a senior placement with the NLC at enough time, instructed GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to remove each of the proactive initiatives from the process and limit entry to a handful of people today”.

Some in that handful of folks were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC numerous several years back, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He gained R4.3-million from lottery cash allocated to make a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he utilized to make a household within an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The property is one of many compensated for with lottery cash 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 near to large-ups within the ANC leadership, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own watch.

Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has due to the fact died.

Any time a new administration, such as the entire board and govt, took over in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” within the documentation referring to proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based. Vital paperwork had been lacking. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage firm Metrofile were signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was capable of Get better copies of some fox888 documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving technique as well as the laptops in their assistants and assist staff.

Information reports
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave concern attainable information security breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information obtained because of doing official features while in the Commission by NLC personnel. The functions are meant to undermine the integrity on the Commission whilst disrupting the successful functions [of your NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational damage for the Fee as being the custodian of personal information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for the SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently going through a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her view.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to record the activities which transpired regarding information and facts stability breaches at the National Lotteries Fee”.

She mentioned many information stories which she claimed ended up the final results of those “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its staff, Sello Qhino, had “furnished her categorized NLC Info and persistently inspired her to supply the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman immediately after attempts to lift the issue internally were overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 report in the Day-to-day Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene reported the NLC determined after which you can suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee while in the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the partner and also the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to signify it, but was uncovered not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The common factor in these content is [they entail] labeled information referring to proactive funding assignments,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the family house to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment 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 some individuals experienced with the hands of your NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, economic payment are anticipated.

“Some men and women had been definitely affected quite negatively by this … This is actually agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Each day Maverick final yr.

“I fulfilled a few these men and women. It was just so heart-wrenching that their total life have been turned upside down,” stated Scholtz.

Amongst Individuals she satisfied had been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe System essential for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will lead to workforce presenting these instances beyond the NLC,” the SSA reported in its findings.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it remains critical that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its aim is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by guaranteeing an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with no being intimidated.”

It recommended which the NLC set up a “Secure channel” for employees to deliver information on any “untoward exercise” that might not prevent or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, dependant on the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a prerequisite.”

Media stories Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator from the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The write-up had features of data not obtainable in the public domain, thereby raising concern on interior Information stability breaches. The allegations in the media were independently investigated,” Nene said. “However, workforce responsible for divulging categorised information have nonetheless being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 report posted with the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from your Limpopo Mirror posting printed on 10 December 2017 along with a new allegation referring to a former personnel via the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that menace brought about into the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 post inside the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been accomplished. “The Lowvelder post contained categorised information and facts concerning NLC coverage, boosting even further worries of internal facts security breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened data stability dangers inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it had been based upon leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Facts) request for aspects with regard to the task, she said