Previous Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Stability Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at the time mentioned media reviews she claimed ended up according to “stolen” information and facts in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did look into. It found the data wasn't a issue of state stability and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for the media to show it.
A different board and management has considering that taken around the NLC and So far have taken measures to finish corruption in the institution.
A Condition Safety Agency (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied enough motive” for exposure via the media.
The probe into supposed “data security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “confidential” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to research the position of NLC staff members in the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit determined distinct media and reviews that she claimed involved these leaks.
Inside the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that when protecting point out data was “a legal vital aimed toward guarding the sovereignty and integrity of your condition” this only placed on correctly classified information and facts.
Although it did not say so specifically, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked info did not slide into this class.
Drastically, the SSA made it crystal clear that the necessity to secure point out facts “won't reduce any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.
The SSA investigation located that the NLC information linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not labeled with regard to the prescripts on the Bare minimum Details Security Expectations (Skip)”.
“The leakage of your related sensitive official NLC facts to your media does not pose a threat to national safety,” the SSA explained, incorporating the impression with the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report located “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature versus any of your suspected NLC staff members that can be identified from the knowledge and information interrogated”.
It also mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer sufficient motive to have these uncovered inside the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which data “stolen” from the NLC was sent to the US, where he claimed it was becoming offered to fund a smear marketing campaign versus the NLC.
He was repeating very similar promises he had previously designed in Parliament, which provided ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was thorough not to call either.
“I arrived below Within this August house very last calendar year and documented to honourable members that information about our beneficiaries is stolen and set in a single state in America,” he advised MPs.
“We called on the Point out Safety Company to return look into the make a difference due to the fact we're getting stories that our data is producing dollars for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There was communicate, needless to say from just one resource, a person media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but did not tell MPs the SSA investigation had been done Just about a 12 months earlier.
Proactive funding was at the guts with the looting with the lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant system. The NLC could itself detect a task to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to supervise it.
Immediately after Nevhutanda 1st told Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued a statement indicating that his remarks mirrored “an extremely dangerous attitude where the media is getting blamed for the NLC’s inherent problems”.
“Instead of investigating why tens of millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute attempted to cast question on the integrity with the journalists involved and it has requested the SSA to analyze their resources.”
Proactive assignments produced mystery
Protection flaws identified within the NLC grant funding program in the SSA’s investigation, appear to are already utilised as an justification because of the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded projects 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 tasks were being removed from the grant funding program and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business, Govt Manager Authorized so as to safeguard [the] info,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
“There was many inside discussion, with a great deal of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside of a senior situation for the NLC at time, informed GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to remove each of the proactive projects from the process and limit usage of a handful of persons”.
Some in that handful of men and women were implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC numerous yrs ago, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to make a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he utilized to develop a house within an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The residence is one of numerous paid for with lottery resources that were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation get in December 2022.
The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to superior-ups during the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their look at.
Also implicated are previous board members William Huma, who resigned immediately after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has due to the fact died.
Any time a new administration, such as the full board and govt, took over in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation associated with proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-dependent. Critical paperwork were lacking. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage organization Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.
The NLC was capable of Get better copies of some หวย รัฐบาล paperwork from its Mimecast email archiving system as well as laptops of their assistants and support workers.
Information studies
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave problem probable details stability breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private info acquired due to accomplishing Formal capabilities within the Commission by NLC workers. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity with the Commission while disrupting the effective features [on the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational harm into the Fee because the custodian of non-public data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request for your SSA to investigate was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is currently going through a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her watch.
The goal of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to file the occasions which transpired concerning facts safety breaches for the National Lotteries Commission”.
She listed several information experiences which she claimed were being the outcomes of these “breaches” (see at the end of this informative article).
Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its staff, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her labeled NLC Info and persistently inspired her to offer the data to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to lift the issue internally have been disregarded, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 write-up from the Everyday Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene mentioned the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel during the NLC’s East London office, who was the companion and also the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 youngsters.
Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Together with the NLC paying out R470,000 on lawyers to stand for it, but was located not guilty and permitted to return to operate.
“The widespread Consider these articles is [they contain] categorized information and facts associated with proactive funding jobs,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your relatives house to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Business within an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a friend.
Each Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the harm many people suffered at the palms on the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economical compensation are predicted.
“Some people were being genuinely affected quite negatively by this … This is basically distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day by day Maverick final 12 months.
“I met several these individuals. It was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives have already been turned the wrong way up,” claimed Scholtz.
Among the those she achieved were being Qhino and Makatse.
Safe System necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.
“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will bring about personnel presenting these kinds of instances beyond the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its conclusions.
“Offered the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it remains important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its concentration is on making sure that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated against and by making certain an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with no remaining intimidated.”
It recommended that the NLC establish a “safe channel” for employees to deliver info on any “untoward action” that will not stop or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, determined by the Safeguarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, can be a necessity.”
Media experiences Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner of the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report experienced features of data not accessible in the public area, thus boosting worry on interior Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations during the media were being independently investigated,” Nene reported. “However, employees accountable for divulging categorized details have however to generally be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 article released through the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations with the Limpopo Mirror post revealed on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation associated with a previous worker with the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for that menace brought about to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 report while in the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Regardless of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been accomplished. “The Lowvelder post contained categorised facts regarding NLC plan, elevating further problems of inner information and facts security breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts security dangers within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it had been based upon leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Data) request for details regarding the project, she claimed