Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Point out Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at time detailed media reviews she mentioned were being based on “stolen” data in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It identified the information was not a matter of point out stability and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for your media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has given that taken around the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption with the establishment.
A Condition Security Agency (SSA) investigation found the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished ample motive” for exposure by the media.
The probe into intended “data safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the role of NLC employees while in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit determined particular media and reviews that she claimed concerned these leaks.
In the letter outlining its findings, the SSA instructed the NLC that even though preserving point out info was “a authorized very important targeted at defending the sovereignty and integrity of the point out” this only placed on appropriately labeled details.
Even though it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked information and facts did not tumble into this classification.
Drastically, the SSA produced it obvious that the necessity to secure state details “would not avert any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation found which the NLC information and facts linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not labeled regarding the prescripts on the Bare minimum Information Stability Benchmarks (Skip)”.
“The leakage of the pertinent sensitive Formal NLC details to the media won't pose a risk to countrywide stability,” the SSA explained, adding which the influence with the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report found “no evidence of the factual and incriminating character from any in the suspected NLC workforce that may be identified from the data and details interrogated”.
Furthermore, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give ample motive to have these types of exposed from the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where information and facts “stolen” with the NLC was despatched towards the US, the place he claimed it had been remaining bought to fund a smear marketing campaign towards the NLC.
He was repeating identical claims he experienced Beforehand produced in Parliament, which provided advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was cautious not to name possibly.
“I arrived below In this particular August household last calendar year and noted to honourable associates that information regarding our beneficiaries has been stolen and put in one state in America,” he told MPs.
“We referred to as on the State Protection Agency to come back take a look at the make a difference because we are having reports that our facts is producing money for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There has been discuss, naturally from 1 source, one particular media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs the SSA investigation were concluded Practically a yr earlier.
Proactive funding was at the heart of your looting with the lottery. It side-stepped the traditional grant approach. The NLC could alone discover a project to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to oversee it.
After Nevhutanda first advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to investigate the supposed breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued a press release stating that his remarks reflected “an especially harmful Mind-set wherever the media is staying blamed with the NLC’s inherent challenges”.
“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute made an effort to Solid question to the integrity of the journalists associated and it has asked the SSA to analyze their sources.”
Proactive jobs designed secret
Security flaws recognized from the NLC grant funding method over the SSA’s investigation, seem to have been employed as an excuse because of the NLC to remove all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants system.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘key’ and assignments ended up removed from the grant funding technique and taken care of manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Workplace, Govt Manager Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] facts,” Nene explained in her affidavit.
“There was a lot of inside dialogue, with many backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside a senior situation at the NLC at time, instructed GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive assignments through the procedure and limit entry to A few people today”.
Some in that handful of men and women have been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC many a long time back, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He received R4.three-million from lottery cash allocated to make a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he utilized to make a household in an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The home is one of quite a few paid for with lottery resources which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation buy in December 2022.
The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to substantial-ups inside the ANC leadership, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their own enjoy.
Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has due to the fact died.
Each time a new administration, including the overall board and govt, took about at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” in the documentation associated with proactive funding, much of which was paper-primarily based. Crucial paperwork ended up lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage business Metrofile had been signed out and under no circumstances returned.
The NLC was capable of Get well copies of some หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving system along with the laptops in their assistants and guidance team.
Information studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave issue feasible data safety breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts received because of carrying out Formal functions from the Commission by NLC staff members. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity on the Fee when disrupting the efficient capabilities [from the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational harm into the Commission as being the custodian of private information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for for that SSA to analyze was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC firm secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is presently going through a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her view.
The purpose of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to history the occasions which transpired referring to information protection breaches within the National Lotteries Fee”.
She outlined various news stories which she claimed were the final results of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this information).
Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its employees, Sello Qhino, had “offered her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to deliver the knowledge to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman after tries to lift The problem internally were dismissed, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article during the Day by day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene reported that the NLC recognized and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel in the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the companion along with the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few youngsters.
Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC paying R470,000 on attorneys to depict it, but was uncovered not guilty and permitted to return to work.
“The typical Think about these articles is usually that [they require] classified information and facts associated with proactive funding projects,” Nene reported in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the family members household to go ahead and take heat off her and his youngsters. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Business office within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.
Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method intended to recognise the harm some individuals experienced for the fingers in the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economical compensation are predicted.
“Some people were being genuinely affected quite negatively by this … This is basically agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Day by day Maverick final yr.
“I achieved a few these men and women. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total lives are already turned the wrong way up,” reported Scholtz.
Among the All those she met had been Qhino and Makatse.
Risk-free System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at some time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn for the media.
“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will result in staff members presenting these kinds of instances beyond the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its conclusions.
“Presented the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it continues to be essential that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its target is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated versus and by ensuring an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with out getting intimidated.”
It encouraged the NLC establish a “Secure channel” for workers to deliver information on any “untoward activity” that may not reduce or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based on the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is often a requirement.”
Media stories Nene outlined
A 10 December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor with the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The write-up had aspects of knowledge not offered in the public domain, thereby raising concern on interior Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations from the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Nonetheless, workers accountable for divulging classified facts have still to get recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 article released through the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations with the Limpopo Mirror post released on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation regarding a previous staff from the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed to the risk induced to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up from the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, Despite getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder report contained classified information and facts concerning NLC policy, boosting more concerns 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 facts protection risks within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it was based on leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Info) ask for for information with regard to the task, she said