Lottery bosses turned to State Security Company to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Company to investigate leaks

Blog Article

Former National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Condition Security Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at time mentioned media studies she claimed were being depending on “stolen” data in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It observed the data wasn't a make any difference of state protection and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” to the media to reveal it.
A completely new board and administration has since taken above the NLC and To date have taken measures to finish corruption for the institution.
A Point out Protection Company (SSA) investigation observed the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered sufficient motive” for publicity through the media.

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

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “private” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the part of NLC personnel inside the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered distinct media and reports that she claimed concerned these leaks.

From the letter outlining its findings, the SSA advised the NLC that when defending point out details was “a lawful essential directed at defending the sovereignty and integrity from the condition” this only placed on properly categorized details.

Although it didn't say so directly, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked information did not drop into this group.

Noticeably, the SSA made it very clear that the need to secure condition information “does not reduce any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation discovered that the NLC details involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not categorised when it comes to the prescripts of the Minimum Information Protection Expectations (Skip)”.

“The leakage of your related sensitive official NLC data for the media will not pose a danger to countrywide stability,” the SSA said, adding which the impact in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of a factual and incriminating character from any on the suspected NLC workers that may be discovered from the information and facts interrogated”.

What's more, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver enough motive to get these types of uncovered in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where information “stolen” from your NLC was sent to the US, where he claimed it absolutely was staying marketed to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating very similar claims he experienced Formerly built in Parliament, which provided ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call possibly.

“I came below On this August household last yr and described to honourable users that information about our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and place in one condition in America,” he instructed MPs.

“We referred to as to the Point out Stability Company to return take a look at the make any difference because we have been receiving studies that our info is building income for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There has been converse, naturally from 1 supply, 1 media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs that the SSA investigation had been done Just about a year previously.

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

Soon after Nevhutanda to start with explained to Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement stating that his remarks reflected “an especially hazardous Perspective exactly where the media is becoming blamed with the NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“In lieu of investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has in its place tried to Solid question to the integrity with the journalists involved and it has asked the SSA to research their sources.”

Proactive initiatives made mystery
Stability flaws identified from the NLC grant funding procedure during the SSA’s investigation, seem to are applied being an excuse through the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants process.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘secret’ and assignments were removed from the grant funding system and preserved manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business office, Executive Manager Lawful in an effort to safeguard [the] details,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inside discussion, with a lot of forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a senior place for the NLC at some time, told GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to get rid of all the proactive initiatives through the procedure and limit access to a handful of men and women”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC numerous years ago, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery resources allotted to build a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to construct a household within an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The residence is one of various paid for with lottery money which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained 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 superior-ups in the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which confused the NLC on their own observe.

Also implicated are former board members William Huma, who resigned right after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has since died.

When a new administration, such as the total board and executive, took more than for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” from the documentation referring to proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-dependent. Crucial documents ended up lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage business Metrofile had been signed out and never ever returned.

The NLC was able to recover copies of some หวย ไทยรัฐ documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving program plus the laptops in their assistants and aid staff.

Information reports
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave problem doable facts protection breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private data obtained due to executing Formal capabilities during the Commission by NLC personnel. The things to do are intended to undermine the integrity of the Commission while disrupting the efficient functions [of the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational harm to the Fee given that the custodian of private information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at this time experiencing a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to file the occasions which transpired associated with information and facts security breaches in the National Lotteries Commission”.

She detailed a variety of news studies which she claimed have been the outcome of those “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).

Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “presented her categorized NLC Details and persistently inspired her to offer the data to GroundUp”.

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

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 post while in the Day by day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene reported which the NLC discovered and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee within the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the spouse as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few young children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to signify it, but was uncovered not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The common Consider these article content is always that [they contain] classified facts concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the relatives dwelling to go ahead and take heat off her and his young children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a buddy.

The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the harm some people endured in the palms from the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, monetary payment are envisioned.

“Some folks were being truly impacted incredibly negatively by this … This is actually unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Each day Maverick past calendar year.

“I achieved two or three these individuals. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total lives have already been turned upside down,” said Scholtz.

Among the Those people she fulfilled had been Qhino and Makatse.

Secure System necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at enough time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.

“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to employees presenting these conditions outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its findings.

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it stays very important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its target is on making certain that illegal and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated from and by guaranteeing an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with out being intimidated.”

It recommended the NLC establish a “safe channel” for employees to provide information on any “untoward exercise” that might not prevent or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based upon the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is often a requirement.”

Media reviews Nene stated
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor in the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The write-up had components of data not out there in the general public domain, thus increasing concern on interior Facts safety breaches. The allegations in the media were being independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Nevertheless, staff members answerable for divulging classified info have yet to get recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 article revealed via the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations within the Limpopo Mirror post printed on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation concerning a previous personnel via the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the risk brought on towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 post while in the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been done. “The Lowvelder report contained classified facts with regards to NLC coverage, elevating further worries of interior info stability breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts stability risks within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Key Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it was depending on leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Facts) request for aspects with regard to the job, she mentioned