Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks
Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks
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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time mentioned media reviews she mentioned have been dependant on “stolen” information and facts within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the data was not a matter of condition security and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to expose it.
A completely new board and management has because taken about the NLC and So far have taken actions to finish corruption at the institution.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation uncovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied sufficient motive” for exposure because of the media.
The probe into meant “information security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.
Here is
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “private” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the part of NLC employees in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit identified precise media and reviews that she claimed associated these leaks.
While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA advised the NLC that though safeguarding point out info was “a authorized vital aimed at defending the sovereignty and integrity with the point out” this only placed on correctly categorised information and facts.
Even though it didn't say so specifically, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked details did not fall into this classification.
Noticeably, the SSA built it apparent that the need to shield point out data “will not prevent any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation uncovered that the NLC information and facts associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not categorized concerning the prescripts from the Bare minimum Information and facts Security Specifications (Overlook)”.
“The leakage with the applicable delicate official NLC information and facts into the media will not pose a risk to nationwide security,” the SSA reported, adding which the impact from the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report found “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature towards any with the suspected NLC personnel which could be identified from the information and knowledge interrogated”.
In addition it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer ample motive to own such uncovered in the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which information and facts “stolen” within the NLC was sent towards the US, where he claimed it absolutely was getting bought to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.
He was repeating very similar claims he had Beforehand created in Parliament, which included ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was careful not to name both.
“I came below Within this August property past calendar year and reported to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one state in America,” he told MPs.
“We called on the Point out Protection Agency to return check into the subject due to the fact we are having studies that our info is building income for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There was talk, not surprisingly from 1 supply, just one media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation were completed Virtually a yr previously.
Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting in the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant process. The NLC could alone detect a job to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to oversee it.
Following Nevhutanda first instructed Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a statement declaring that his remarks mirrored “an especially dangerous Frame of mind where the media is currently being blamed with the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.
“Rather then investigating why millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative attempted to Solid doubt within the integrity of your journalists involved and has asked the SSA to research their sources.”
Proactive initiatives made magic formula
Safety flaws recognized while in the NLC grant funding process in the SSA’s investigation, surface to have been used being an excuse from the NLC to remove all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants process.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘top secret’ and assignments had been faraway from the grant funding method and managed manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Place of work, Govt Manager Legal so as to safeguard [the] info,” Nene explained in her affidavit.
“There was loads of internal discussion, with a lot of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in the senior posture within the NLC at some time, explained to GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to get rid of each of the proactive tasks in the method and Restrict entry to a handful of people today”.
Some in that handful of men and women had been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC various many years back, is implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He obtained R4.three-million from lottery resources allocated to create a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he made use of to build a property within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The property is among several paid for with lottery funds which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device attained a preservation buy in December 2022.
The politically-linked 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, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their own look at.
Also implicated are former board customers William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got since died.
Every time a new administration, such as the overall board and govt, took over in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation associated with proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-dependent. Critical files had been missing. Files held for safekeeping by document storage company Metrofile were signed out and in no way returned.
The NLC was in a position to Get better copies of some หวย วัน นี้ paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving procedure and also the laptops of their assistants and support staff members.
News stories
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave worry possible data stability breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts attained as a result of executing official features while in the Fee by NLC staff members. The things to do are meant to undermine the integrity with the Commission although disrupting the powerful functions [from the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational hurt to your Commission as the custodian of non-public details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for to the SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at this time dealing with a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in legal action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her view.
The objective of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to record the functions which transpired regarding information security breaches in the National Lotteries Commission”.
She outlined different news reports which she claimed were the results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this information).
Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her categorized NLC Information and persistently inspired her to provide the knowledge to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman following makes an attempt to lift the issue internally had been overlooked, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article inside the Each day Dispatch concerning the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene mentioned that the NLC recognized then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker inside the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the associate 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 attorneys to signify it, but was uncovered not guilty and allowed to return to operate.
“The popular factor in these content is the fact that [they entail] categorised information referring to proactive funding assignments,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family house to go ahead and take warmth off her and his small children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Business in an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a colleague.
The two Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the hurt a lot of people suffered within the fingers of your NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economical compensation are anticipated.
“Some people today had been seriously affected really negatively by this … This is de facto distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Every day Maverick previous 12 months.
“I fulfilled a handful of these people today. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives have been turned the other way up,” reported Scholtz.
Between People she satisfied were Qhino and Makatse.
Harmless platform needed for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn into the media.
“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in staff members presenting this kind of scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA reported in its conclusions.
“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it continues to be very important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its concentration is on making certain that unlawful and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated from and by making certain an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without staying intimidated.”
It suggested the NLC build a “Protected channel” for workers to deliver information on any “untoward activity” that might not reduce or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based upon the Shielded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a requirement.”
Media reviews Nene detailed
A 10 December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator on the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The posting had components of data not offered in the public domain, thus elevating issue on inner Information safety breaches. The allegations in the media have been independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Nonetheless, workforce liable for divulging labeled information and facts have however for being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 report released via the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from the Limpopo Mirror article posted on ten December 2017 plus a new allegation associated with a former staff because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that risk caused to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 short article inside the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been accomplished. “The Lowvelder short article contained classified details with regard to NLC plan, boosting additional considerations of inner data protection breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened facts protection hazards within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it had been according to leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Usage of Data) ask for for specifics about the task, she reported