Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Stability Company to analyze leaks

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Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at some time outlined media reviews she explained have been based upon “stolen” information and facts in an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the data wasn't a make any difference of point out safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for that media to reveal it.
A whole new board and administration has due to the fact taken above the NLC and Up to now have taken measures to end corruption within the institution.
A Condition Stability Company (SSA) investigation discovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered enough motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into supposed “details protection breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken soon after 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 at the moment suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the function of NLC employees while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined particular media and experiences that she claimed included these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that when guarding condition information and facts was “a legal crucial aimed toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity of the state” this only placed on correctly categorised information.

Even though it didn't say so specifically, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked details did not slide into this class.

Drastically, the SSA created it distinct that the necessity to defend state facts “will not prevent any particular person 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 nature, but not categorized with regard to the prescripts of the Minimal Details Protection Criteria (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage with the applicable delicate official NLC details for the media will not pose a risk to national stability,” the SSA explained, including which the impression on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of a factual and incriminating character against any with the suspected NLC staff that could be determined from the data and knowledge interrogated”.

In addition, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer ample motive to own these types of uncovered within the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein information and facts “stolen” with the NLC was sent towards the US, where he claimed it had been getting bought to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating very similar claims he had Beforehand created in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was cautious not to name both.

“I arrived here in this August residence past yr and described to honourable users that information regarding our beneficiaries has been stolen and place in one condition in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We referred to as on the Condition Stability Agency to come explore the make a difference since we're obtaining reports that our facts is creating cash for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There's been talk, obviously from 1 supply, a person media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but failed to explain to MPs the SSA investigation were completed Virtually a 12 months previously.

Proactive funding was at the center of your looting from the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant procedure. The NLC could itself identify a venture to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to oversee it.

After Nevhutanda to start with instructed Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement declaring that his remarks reflected “an especially risky Mind-set the place the media is getting blamed for the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“In lieu of investigating why hundreds of thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative made an effort to cast question within the integrity of the journalists included and it has questioned the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive initiatives made mystery
Protection flaws discovered within the NLC grant funding process during the SSA’s investigation, seem to are already utilized being an excuse with the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘secret’ and initiatives have been faraway from the grant funding program and managed manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Place of work, Executive Manager Legal as a way to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was lots of inside dialogue, with a lot of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in the senior place within the NLC at some time, told GroundUp. “Ultimately, the decision was taken to eliminate many of the proactive jobs within the process and limit access to A few folks”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC a number of decades ago, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He received R4.3-million from lottery cash allotted to construct a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to make a house in an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The residence is among various compensated for with lottery cash which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation order in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to large-ups inside the ANC Management, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which confused the NLC on their watch.

Also implicated are previous board members William Huma, who resigned immediately after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has due to the fact died.

Whenever a new administration, including the full board and executive, took in excess of at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” from the documentation relating to proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-based mostly. Critical files ended up lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage firm Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was capable of recover copies of some หวย ลาว วัน นี้ files from its Mimecast email archiving program plus the laptops in their assistants and aid employees.

News reports
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave issue probable information and facts stability breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential info obtained due to executing Formal features within the Fee by NLC staff. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity of the Commission though disrupting the successful capabilities [from the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational damage on the Fee because the custodian of personal details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for your SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently experiencing a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to document the functions which transpired associated with data protection breaches on the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She stated a variety of information studies which she claimed have been the outcomes of such “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its workers, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her classified NLC Details and persistently encouraged her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman just after tries to raise The problem internally were being disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 write-up within the Day by day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene explained the NLC identified after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the husband or wife as well as mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, While using the NLC investing R470,000 on attorneys to stand for it, but was discovered not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The prevalent Think about these articles is the fact that [they include] categorized info referring to proactive funding projects,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your spouse and children household to take the warmth off her and his youngsters. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Business in an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a buddy.

Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system intended to recognise the harm lots of people suffered in the fingers on the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, economical payment are envisioned.

“Some people today were being really afflicted pretty negatively by this … This is admittedly distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Everyday Maverick final calendar year.

“I fulfilled several these folks. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their full lives have been turned the wrong way up,” said Scholtz.

Between These she fulfilled were being Qhino and Makatse.

Protected System needed for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at enough time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to the media.

“Failure to have a dedicated anti-corruption channel will lead to personnel presenting these conditions beyond the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its conclusions.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it continues to be important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its concentration is on making certain that unlawful and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated from and by ensuring an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without staying intimidated.”

It suggested the NLC build a “Protected channel” for workers to deliver information on any “untoward activity” that could not reduce or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based upon the Shielded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a requirement.”

Media reviews Nene detailed
A 10 December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor in the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The posting had elements of data not offered in the public domain, thus elevating issue on inner Information and facts safety breaches. The allegations during the media had been independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Nevertheless, staff members accountable for divulging categorized facts have yet to become recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 report released because of the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from the Limpopo Mirror article posted on ten December 2017 and also a new allegation regarding a former staff because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for that risk caused to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting while in the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been accomplished. “The Lowvelder posting contained classified data concerning NLC plan, raising additional considerations of inside facts protection breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts protection pitfalls inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it had been based on leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Usage of Details) ask for for particulars with regard to the undertaking, she reported