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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Former National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at enough time outlined media reviews she said have been dependant on “stolen” facts in an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the information was not a make any difference of state stability and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” with the media to reveal it.
A completely new board and administration has given that taken in excess of the NLC and To this point have taken steps to end corruption within the institution.
A State Protection Company (SSA) investigation uncovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished enough motive” for publicity with the media.

The probe into supposed “facts stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out just 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 at present suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety company’s “private” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the part of NLC team from the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit determined particular media and reports that she claimed associated these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its results, the SSA told the NLC that whilst defending point out information and facts was “a authorized critical aimed toward safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity with the state” this only applied to correctly classified information and facts.

Even though it didn't say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not drop into this group.

Appreciably, the SSA manufactured it distinct that the necessity to shield point out details “would not stop any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation observed that the NLC info associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not classified with regard to the prescripts on the Bare minimum Data Safety Expectations (Overlook)”.

“The leakage of the suitable sensitive Formal NLC info into the media isn't going to pose a threat to countrywide security,” the SSA claimed, including which the effect with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no proof of the factual and incriminating character in opposition to any in the suspected NLC personnel that would be determined from the information and details interrogated”.

It also said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does provide enough motive to obtain this sort of uncovered in the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where information “stolen” from the NLC was sent into the US, where he claimed it absolutely was remaining bought to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating equivalent promises he experienced Beforehand designed in Parliament, which bundled ad hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to call possibly.

“I came right here In this particular August residence final year and described to honourable users that information regarding our beneficiaries has become stolen and set in one condition in America,” he explained to MPs.

“We identified as within the Point out Security Agency to return check into the issue because we have been finding experiences that our details is building dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There's been discuss, of course from one particular supply, just one media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but failed to tell MPs the SSA investigation were done Pretty much a 12 months before.

Proactive funding was at the center on the looting in the lottery. It facet-stepped the conventional grant system. The NLC could by itself determine a task to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to oversee it.

Just after Nevhutanda very first advised Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued a statement stating that his remarks mirrored “an especially perilous Mindset where by the media is getting blamed with the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“In lieu of investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative attempted to Solid question around the integrity of the journalists concerned and it has asked the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive projects manufactured solution
Stability flaws recognized while in the NLC grant funding process over the SSA’s investigation, seem to happen to be used as an excuse via the NLC to remove all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and initiatives were removed from the grant funding procedure and maintained manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Office environment, Govt Manager Legal in order to safeguard [the] info,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of inner dialogue, with lots of forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was within a senior position at the NLC at some time, informed GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to eliminate all the proactive assignments from your technique and Restrict access to A few people”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC a number of a long time back, is implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to construct a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he employed to build a residence within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The house is among quite a few compensated for with lottery resources which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation order in December 2022.

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

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

Every time a new administration, including the overall board and executive, took around with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation referring to proactive funding, much of which was paper-based. Critical files were missing. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage company Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.

The NLC was capable of Get well copies of some ltpbet documents from its Mimecast email archiving system and the laptops in their assistants and help workers.

News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave concern attainable info protection breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts attained as a result of undertaking official capabilities within the Commission by NLC workforce. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity in the Fee though disrupting the successful functions [in the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational harm on the Fee since the custodian of personal details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is currently struggling with a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her view.

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

She outlined a variety of news stories which she claimed were the outcomes of these “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, had “offered her categorised NLC Information and persistently encouraged her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman immediately after makes an attempt to boost the issue internally were ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article while in the Day-to-day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene stated which the NLC recognized and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff inside the NLC’s East London office, who was the lover as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Along with the NLC spending R470,000 on lawyers to symbolize it, but was located not guilty and allowed to return to work.

“The typical factor in these posts is [they entail] categorized info relating to proactive funding projects,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the household house to go ahead and take heat off her and his small children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an empty manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.

Both Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process intended to recognise the hurt lots of people experienced in the palms of the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economical compensation are envisioned.

“Some people have been seriously influenced quite negatively by this … This is de facto unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Each day Maverick previous year.

“I fulfilled a few these people today. It was just so heart-wrenching that their complete lives have already been turned the wrong way up,” claimed Scholtz.

Among These she achieved were being Qhino and Makatse.

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

“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will bring about workers presenting these kinds of scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA said in its results.

“Presented the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it stays very important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its concentrate is on making certain that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by guaranteeing an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with out getting intimidated.”

It encouraged the NLC set up a “Protected channel” for workers to offer information on any “untoward exercise” that might not avert or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based on the Safeguarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a need.”

Media stories Nene detailed
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Health 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 write-up experienced things of knowledge not accessible in the public domain, thereby elevating problem on inner Details safety breaches. The allegations from the media were being independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Having said that, employees accountable for divulging categorised details have yet being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 posting published with the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations in the Limpopo Mirror report released on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation concerning a previous staff by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that menace triggered for the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting from the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Despite getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been accomplished. “The Lowvelder article contained labeled info concerning NLC policy, elevating further more issues of inner facts stability breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened details safety hazards inside 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 experienced verified in its story that it absolutely was dependant on leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Information and facts) request for details with regard to the task, she stated