Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Company to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Safety Company to research leaks

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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at the time outlined media stories she said were based upon “stolen” facts in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It observed the knowledge was not a matter of point out safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to show it.
A whole new board and management has since taken about the NLC and So far have taken actions to finish corruption on the establishment.
A State Security Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered ample motive” for publicity from the media.

The probe into supposed “details protection breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security agency’s “private” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the position of NLC personnel within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized particular media and experiences that she claimed concerned these leaks.

During the letter outlining its findings, the SSA instructed the NLC that whilst shielding point out data was “a authorized very important geared toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity of your point out” this only placed on correctly categorised info.

Although it didn't say so instantly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked information and facts didn't tumble into this group.

Noticeably, the SSA built it apparent that the necessity to defend state information “would not avoid any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation identified which the NLC data linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not classified regarding the prescripts of your Minimal Data Protection Requirements (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage of the pertinent delicate Formal NLC info for the media will not pose a risk to national stability,” the SSA reported, incorporating the effects in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report discovered “no proof of the factual and incriminating nature versus any from the suspected NLC personnel which could be identified from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.

Additionally, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply ample motive to get this kind of exposed from the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which information “stolen” from your NLC was sent into the US, in which he claimed it was being marketed to fund a smear campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating comparable promises he had previously designed in Parliament, which incorporated advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call either.

“I came in this article In this particular August house final yr and claimed to honourable users that information about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one condition in America,” he informed MPs.

“We referred to as to the Point out Protection Agency to come explore the make a difference since we are having studies that our details is generating dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There has been converse, needless to say from a person source, one particular media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation were done Practically a 12 months before.

Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant course of action. The NLC could itself recognize a task to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda very first informed Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a statement saying that his remarks mirrored “a particularly perilous Frame of mind exactly where the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Instead of investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has instead tried to cast doubt within the integrity in the journalists included and has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive jobs made secret
Stability flaws determined while in the NLC grant funding technique in the course of the SSA’s investigation, seem to have been applied as an justification through the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘mystery’ and projects have been faraway from the grant funding system and managed manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business, Executive Manager Legal in an effort to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene said in her affidavit.

“There was lots of internal dialogue, with many forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in the senior situation with the NLC at time, told GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to get rid of each of the proactive projects within the technique and Restrict entry to A few folks”.

Some in that handful of folks were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC several a long time in the past, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He obtained R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to create a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to build a house within an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The residence is one of several compensated for with lottery cash that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near substantial-ups within the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which confused the NLC on their observe.

Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got since died.

Whenever a new administration, such as the total board and executive, took about for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” during the documentation associated with proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based mostly. Vital files had been lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage company Metrofile had been signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was capable of Get better copies of some luckyvip77 documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving technique along with the laptops of their assistants and support staff.

News reports
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave worry feasible information and facts safety breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data attained as a result of executing official features from the Fee by NLC workforce. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission whilst disrupting the efficient functions [of the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational hurt on the Commission as the custodian of private data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request with the SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently experiencing a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to record the activities which transpired regarding information stability breaches in the National Lotteries Commission”.

She outlined numerous news reports which she claimed were the results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her labeled NLC Info and persistently inspired her to provide the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman soon after tries to raise The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 report during the Every day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene said which the NLC discovered and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff in the NLC’s East London office, who was the partner as well as mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, with the NLC paying out R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was uncovered not guilty and permitted to return to work.

“The prevalent factor in these content is the fact that [they entail] labeled information referring to proactive funding assignments,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Business office in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a buddy.

The two Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the hurt a lot of people suffered for the fingers of your NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economical compensation are anticipated.

“Some people today had been seriously afflicted extremely negatively by this … This is de facto distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Daily Maverick final yr.

“I satisfied a number of these men and women. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their whole life are actually turned the other way up,” explained Scholtz.

Amid These she met were being Qhino and Makatse.

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

“Failure to possess a dedicated anti-corruption channel will cause employees presenting these kinds of cases outside of the NLC,” the SSA explained in its conclusions.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it remains essential that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentrate is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular perform is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by making certain an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without remaining intimidated.”

It proposed the NLC establish a “Harmless channel” for employees to provide info on any “untoward activity” that could not stop or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, dependant on the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually a requirement.”

Media studies Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The article experienced things of knowledge not offered in the public area, thus elevating concern on interior Data security breaches. The allegations in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Nevertheless, workforce answerable for divulging classified data have yet to get discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up released by the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations with the Limpopo Mirror posting published on ten December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a former employee by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your threat brought on to the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report inside the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been accomplished. “The Lowvelder article contained labeled information with regard to NLC plan, raising even more concerns of internal data protection breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened information security risks throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it had been determined by leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Use of Data) ask for for facts in regards to the project, she claimed