Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time outlined media studies she claimed were being depending on “stolen” data in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It discovered the information wasn't a subject of state stability and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” with the media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has due to the fact taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption in the establishment.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation observed that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into intended “information security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security company’s “confidential” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the position of NLC workers while in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered distinct media and studies that she claimed involved these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA instructed the NLC that while preserving condition details was “a authorized critical targeted at shielding the sovereignty and integrity of the state” this only placed on appropriately classified details.

Although it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked info did not tumble into this group.

Drastically, the SSA produced it obvious that the necessity to secure point out information and facts “won't reduce any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located that the NLC information involved in the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not labeled in terms of the prescripts of your Least Details Security Benchmarks (Pass up)”.

“The leakage of your suitable sensitive official NLC information on the media will not pose a menace to countrywide security,” the SSA mentioned, incorporating which the affect with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no proof of the factual and incriminating character from any with the suspected NLC staff members that could be discovered from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.

Additionally, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present ample motive to have this sort of uncovered from the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which information and facts “stolen” through the NLC was despatched towards the US, the place he claimed it absolutely was becoming offered to fund a smear campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating very similar promises he experienced Earlier made in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was thorough not to name possibly.

“I came in this article Within this August house very last yr and noted to honourable users that specifics of our beneficiaries has been stolen and place in one condition in America,” he advised MPs.

“We known as around the Point out Protection Company to return explore the subject mainly because we've been acquiring studies that our information and facts is producing dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There have been converse, needless to say from one supply, a single media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not inform MPs that the SSA investigation were finished almost a calendar year previously.

Proactive funding was at the guts in the looting of the lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant process. The NLC could by itself establish a challenge to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

After Nevhutanda very first informed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued an announcement declaring that his remarks reflected “a very risky attitude in which the media is being blamed with the NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“As an alternative to investigating why hundreds of thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively attempted to cast doubt around the integrity of the journalists associated and has questioned the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive assignments made magic formula
Stability flaws recognized within the NLC grant funding program through the SSA’s investigation, look to have already been made use of as an excuse because of the NLC to remove all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘mystery’ and initiatives ended up removed from the grant funding program and maintained manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Place of work, Government Supervisor Legal so as to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was plenty of inside discussion, with many backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in the senior position for the NLC at the time, told GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to remove all the proactive tasks from the method and Restrict access to A few men and women”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC a number of yrs ago, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He been given R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to build a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he applied to make a house within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The property is one of quite a few compensated for with lottery cash that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation buy in December 2022.

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

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

Each time a new administration, such as the total board and executive, took over within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they uncovered a “chaotic mess” within the documentation regarding proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-centered. Key documents have been missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage organization Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was in the position to Get well copies of some ตรวจ สลากกินแบ่ง รัฐบาล documents from its Mimecast e mail archiving system plus the laptops in their assistants and support employees.

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In his one December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave problem probable facts safety breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential details acquired due to doing official functions during the Fee by NLC personnel. The routines are meant to undermine the integrity on the Fee even though disrupting the successful capabilities [from the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational damage to the Commission given that the custodian of personal data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is currently dealing with a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to history the events which transpired relating to information stability breaches for the National Lotteries Fee”.

She stated different information studies which she claimed were the effects of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this text).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff, Sello Qhino, experienced “provided her categorized NLC Facts and persistently encouraged her to supply the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a number of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to boost The problem internally were disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 short article inside the Daily Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene claimed which the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff in the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the husband or wife and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few small children.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC shelling out R470,000 on attorneys to stand for it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The prevalent Consider these content articles is the fact [they require] labeled data associated with proactive funding initiatives,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the household property to take the heat off her and his kids. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Business in an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a pal.

Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure intended to recognise the harm some individuals experienced in the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, monetary compensation are envisioned.

“Some individuals had been truly affected extremely negatively by this … This is absolutely distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Every day Maverick very last yr.

“I achieved several these people. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their complete life are turned the other way up,” mentioned Scholtz.

Between those she fulfilled ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Harmless System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered the absence at the time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show into the media.

“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will result in workers presenting these kinds of scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA explained in its findings.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it continues to be critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its concentrate is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular perform is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by ensuring an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without the need of getting intimidated.”

It proposed that the NLC set up a “Risk-free channel” for employees to offer info on any “untoward action” that might not reduce or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based on the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is actually a requirement.”

Media reports Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor of your Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report had aspects of data not obtainable in the general public area, thus raising concern on inner Data protection breaches. The allegations within the media were independently investigated,” Nene stated. “Nevertheless, staff to blame for divulging categorized info have yet being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 article released with the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations from the Limpopo Mirror posting released on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation relating to a former personnel by the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the threat prompted towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 report during the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, Despite acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been accomplished. “The Lowvelder report contained categorized details regarding NLC policy, boosting further more problems of inner details stability breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts safety pitfalls throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Most important Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it absolutely was depending on leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Information) ask for for facts about the job, she explained