Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Company to analyze leaks

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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at enough time mentioned media reviews she mentioned have been dependant on “stolen” details in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the data wasn't a make any difference of state stability and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” to the media to reveal it.
A new board and administration has considering that taken more than the NLC and To date have taken actions to end corruption within the institution.
A Point out Stability Agency (SSA) investigation identified which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided ample motive” for exposure by the media.

The probe into meant “details security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken soon after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote towards the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the purpose of NLC workers from the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified certain media and studies that she claimed concerned these leaks.

From the letter outlining its results, the SSA informed the NLC that while defending point out facts was “a lawful vital geared toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity of your point out” this only placed on appropriately classified data.

Although it didn't say so immediately, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked facts did not slide into this class.

Drastically, the SSA manufactured it apparent that the need to secure point out info “doesn't stop any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation identified the NLC information associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not labeled in terms of the prescripts from the Minimal Info Stability Requirements (MISS)”.

“The leakage from the related delicate Formal NLC details for the media will not pose a risk to countrywide stability,” the SSA stated, including that the affect in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report found “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature in opposition to any with the suspected NLC workers which could be recognized from the data and details interrogated”.

In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver enough motive to obtain these exposed during the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, business and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which information “stolen” with the NLC was despatched towards the US, exactly where he claimed it had been being sold to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating related statements he had Earlier built in Parliament, which provided ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call either.

“I arrived below On this August property previous calendar year and claimed to honourable customers that details about our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and set in one condition in the usa,” he explained to MPs.

“We named on the State Protection Agency to come back investigate the make a difference for the reason that we're having experiences that our data is creating funds for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There have been discuss, of course from a single source, one particular media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but did not convey to MPs that the SSA investigation had been accomplished almost a yr earlier.

Proactive funding was at the guts of the looting of your lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant procedure. The NLC could alone identify a project to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda initial advised Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued a statement declaring that his remarks reflected “a very hazardous Mindset exactly where the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“As opposed to investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has instead tried to Forged question over the integrity from the journalists concerned and it has requested the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive projects made secret
Security flaws discovered inside the NLC grant funding technique in the course of the SSA’s investigation, appear to are actually utilised being an justification through the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and tasks had been removed from the grant funding technique and preserved manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Workplace, Govt Manager Legal to be able to safeguard [the] details,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inner dialogue, with lots of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside a senior place with the NLC at some time, advised GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to get rid of many of the proactive projects in the process and Restrict entry to a handful of folks”.

Some in that handful of people were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC numerous years ago, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to build a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he utilized to create a property within an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The house is one of various compensated for with lottery funds which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups from the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their check out.

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

Whenever a new administration, including the total board and government, took about within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” within the documentation relating to proactive funding, much of which was paper-based. Important files ended up missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and by no means returned.

The NLC was ready to Recuperate copies of some luckyvip77 files from its Mimecast e mail archiving program as well as the laptops in their assistants and assist workers.

Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave concern doable details protection breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts obtained as a result of doing Formal capabilities in the Fee by NLC employees. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission while disrupting the efficient capabilities [of your NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational hurt on the Commission as the custodian of non-public details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is presently struggling with a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her view.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to file the situations which transpired regarding data stability breaches in the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She shown numerous information experiences which she claimed were the outcome of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).

Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her categorised NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to supply the information to GroundUp”.

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

Referring to an 18 November 2018 article in the Every day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene reported which the NLC identified and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel during the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the spouse along with the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few small children.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC shelling out R470,000 on lawyers to stand for it, but was located not responsible and allowed to return to operate.

“The popular Consider these articles is that [they contain] categorized details regarding proactive funding initiatives,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the loved ones house to take the heat off her and his small children. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a colleague.

Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the hurt some people experienced with the hands of your NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, economic payment are envisioned.

“Some persons were being seriously affected pretty negatively by this … This is de facto unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Everyday Maverick past yr.

“I fulfilled a few these people today. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their whole lives have been turned upside down,” mentioned Scholtz.

Between All those she fulfilled ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.

“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will bring about staff presenting this kind of conditions outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its results.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it stays crucial that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its concentration is on ensuring that illegal and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated versus and by making sure an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with out becoming intimidated.”

It advisable the NLC establish a “safe channel” for workers to offer information on any “untoward action” that will not prevent or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, according to the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is often a requirement.”

Media stories Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator from the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The post experienced components of knowledge not available in the public domain, thereby elevating problem on inside Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations in the media were independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Having said that, staff members to blame for divulging categorized information have still for being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 post released by the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations within the Limpopo Mirror article printed on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation concerning a previous personnel because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for your threat triggered to your organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report from the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been completed. “The Lowvelder post contained categorised facts regarding NLC plan, increasing further worries of internal information and facts security breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts stability risks within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it absolutely was based on leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Entry to Info) ask for for specifics with regards to the undertaking, she stated