Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Security Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at time detailed media stories she stated ended up based on “stolen” data in an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It identified the information was not a subject of point out safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to show it.
A fresh board and administration has due to the fact taken around the NLC and Up to now have taken actions to end corruption within the establishment.
A Point out Protection Agency (SSA) investigation identified that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered ample motive” for exposure by the media.

The probe into supposed “data security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken right after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to analyze the purpose of NLC personnel in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered distinct media and stories that she claimed involved these leaks.

During the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA advised the NLC that whilst guarding condition facts was “a legal critical aimed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of your point out” this only placed on correctly categorised info.

Although it didn't say so specifically, the SSA results implied that the allegedly leaked info didn't tumble into this group.

Appreciably, the SSA manufactured it very clear that the necessity to guard state information “doesn't protect against any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC details involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, but not classified when it comes to the prescripts of your Bare minimum Information Security Benchmarks (Overlook)”.

“The leakage of your suitable sensitive official NLC data into the media doesn't pose a threat to national security,” the SSA stated, including that the impact of the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no proof of the factual and incriminating nature against any of the suspected NLC workforce which could be determined from the information and details interrogated”.

In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give enough motive to own this kind of exposed during the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, market and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which data “stolen” with the NLC was despatched to your US, where by he claimed it absolutely was staying marketed to fund a smear campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent claims he experienced Formerly produced in Parliament, which included advert hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was watchful not to name either.

“I came here With this August home very last yr and noted to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and set in a single condition in the united states,” he advised MPs.

“We known as within the State Safety Agency to come investigate the matter for the reason that we've been getting reports that our details is producing money for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There have been talk, certainly from one particular source, one particular media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but failed to explain to MPs the SSA investigation were completed Practically a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting of your lottery. It facet-stepped the conventional grant approach. The NLC could itself determine a project to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda initial advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to research the meant breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement stating that his remarks reflected “an especially unsafe attitude where the media is remaining blamed to the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“Instead of investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has rather tried to cast doubt within the integrity in the journalists included and has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive jobs built solution
Protection flaws identified in the NLC grant funding procedure over the SSA’s investigation, look to have already been used as an justification from the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded projects from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘solution’ and tasks have been faraway from the grant funding procedure and maintained manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Office, Executive Supervisor Authorized in an effort to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was many inside discussion, with a lot of forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside of a senior placement within the NLC at the time, informed GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to get rid of the many proactive initiatives from the program and limit entry to a handful of people”.

Some in that handful of folks ended up implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC numerous a long time back, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He received R4.3-million from lottery cash allotted to construct a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he utilized to create a household in an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The home is among quite a few compensated for with lottery funds that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation buy in December 2022.

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

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

Each time a new administration, such as the whole board and govt, took above on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” during the documentation associated with proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-based mostly. Crucial documents were being lacking. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was capable of recover copies of some fox888 files from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving system plus the laptops of their assistants and help workers.

News reports
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave issue attainable info protection breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information received because of doing Formal capabilities in the Fee by NLC employees. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity from the Commission though disrupting the efficient capabilities [from the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational harm for the Commission since the custodian of non-public info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for with the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC firm secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at the moment dealing with a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to history the functions which transpired relating to details protection breaches within the National Lotteries Fee”.

She stated numerous news studies which she claimed were being the results of such “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its staff, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her classified NLC Info and persistently inspired her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman soon after attempts to boost the issue internally were being dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting while in the Daily Dispatch concerning the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene explained which the NLC discovered and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee within the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the companion as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 little ones.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC expending R470,000 on attorneys to symbolize it, but was discovered not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The common Consider these content articles is that [they require] categorized information and facts associated with proactive funding projects,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the spouse and children property to go ahead and take heat off her and his young children. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Place of work within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to an acquaintance.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the harm a number of people endured in the hands of your NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, economic payment are anticipated.

“Some individuals ended up actually afflicted quite negatively by this … This is really agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Everyday Maverick very last calendar year.

“I met several these people today. It was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives are turned upside down,” mentioned Scholtz.

Between those she achieved were being Qhino and Makatse.

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

“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will cause employees presenting these kinds of cases outside of the NLC,” the SSA explained in its conclusions.

“Offered the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it stays very important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its concentrate is on making certain that illegal and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated versus and by guaranteeing an enough channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without having getting intimidated.”

It advised that the NLC create a “Risk-free channel” for workers to offer info on any “untoward action” that will not reduce or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, dependant on the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a necessity.”

Media studies Nene mentioned
A ten December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report experienced aspects of knowledge not offered in the public area, therefore elevating concern on interior Facts safety breaches. The allegations inside the media were independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Even so, workers responsible for divulging categorized information and facts have nevertheless to generally be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 short article published through the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations in the Limpopo Mirror write-up released on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation relating to a former staff by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that risk triggered for the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article during the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been concluded. “The Lowvelder post contained categorised info concerning NLC policy, increasing further 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 pitfalls in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Primary Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had verified in its story that it was dependant on leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Information and facts) request for aspects with regards to the undertaking, she reported