Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the State Stability Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at some time stated media experiences she mentioned were being based on “stolen” information in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It observed the data wasn't a make any difference of state protection and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to show it.
A brand new board and management has given that taken about the NLC and Up to now have taken measures to finish corruption within the institution.
A State Stability Agency (SSA) investigation located that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied sufficient motive” for exposure via the media.
The probe into intended “data stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote towards the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.
Here is
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “confidential” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the position of NLC staff members from the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified specific media and reports that she claimed associated these leaks.
From the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that while protecting condition data was “a legal imperative aimed at preserving the sovereignty and integrity with the state” this only placed on appropriately categorized details.
Although it did not say so specifically, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked info did not slide into this classification.
Drastically, the SSA produced it crystal clear that the necessity to safeguard state facts “doesn't avoid any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation uncovered the NLC information linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not labeled concerning the prescripts of your Least Details Security Benchmarks (Miss out on)”.
“The leakage of the relevant delicate Formal NLC information and facts on the media isn't going to pose a danger to countrywide stability,” the SSA stated, incorporating that the affect with the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report discovered “no evidence of a factual and incriminating character in opposition to any with the suspected NLC employees that would be discovered from the data and info interrogated”.
What's more, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver enough motive to acquire such uncovered while in the media”.
Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein details “stolen” from the NLC was despatched to the US, exactly where he claimed it was being marketed to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.
He was repeating related statements he had previously built in Parliament, which provided advert hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was careful not to name possibly.
“I arrived listed here During this August residence very last calendar year and noted to honourable customers that information about our beneficiaries is stolen and place in one condition in America,” he advised MPs.
“We named to the Condition Safety Agency to return consider the issue for the reason that we are having stories that our facts is creating money for media platforms and journalists,” he reported. “There was speak, certainly from one particular resource, a single media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation had been concluded almost a yr earlier.
Proactive funding was at the center on the looting with the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could alone detect a challenge to fund and appoint a non-profit organisation to supervise it.
Just after Nevhutanda initially instructed Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued a press release stating that his remarks mirrored “an especially dangerous Mind-set in which the media is remaining blamed to the NLC’s inherent complications”.
“As an alternative to investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative attempted to Solid question to the integrity of your journalists associated and it has questioned the SSA to analyze their sources.”
Proactive assignments manufactured solution
Protection flaws recognized inside the NLC grant funding method throughout the SSA’s investigation, appear to have been made use of as an justification with the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants program.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘top secret’ and tasks were being removed from the grant funding procedure and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Business, Govt Supervisor Lawful so as to safeguard [the] information,” Nene said in her affidavit.
“There was many internal discussion, with many forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside a senior place in the NLC at the time, explained to GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to eliminate the many proactive tasks from the process and Restrict entry to A few people”.
Some in that handful of individuals ended up implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC numerous yrs back, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He acquired R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to construct a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he utilised to create a residence in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The assets is one of a number of compensated for with lottery cash that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation order 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 large-ups in the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated from the corruption which confused the NLC on their observe.
Also implicated are former board customers William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have because died.
Whenever a new administration, including the whole board and executive, took more than in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation relating to proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-centered. Essential documents were being missing. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and hardly ever returned.
The NLC was capable to Get better copies of some ตรวจ หวย documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving technique along with the laptops in their assistants and assist workers.
Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave concern attainable info protection breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential details received on account of performing official functions within the Commission by NLC staff. The pursuits are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission whilst disrupting the successful functions [of your NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational damage on the Commission given that 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 the moment dealing with a disciplinary inquiry just 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 activities which transpired regarding information security breaches in the National Lotteries Commission”.
She outlined different news reports which she claimed had been the outcomes of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this information).
Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that considered one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her categorized NLC Info 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 right after makes an attempt to lift the issue internally have been overlooked, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 post while in the Day by day Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene explained the NLC determined and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel from the NLC’s East London Business, who was the husband or wife as well as mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three children.
Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, with the NLC paying out R470,000 on lawyers to stand for it, but was identified not responsible and permitted to return to work.
“The widespread Think about these content articles is usually that [they involve] categorized facts concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the relatives dwelling to go ahead and take heat off her and his young children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Business office in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a buddy.
Each Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the damage a number of people suffered with the hands on the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, fiscal payment are expected.
“Some persons were actually influenced very negatively by this … This is basically agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day by day Maverick last year.
“I met 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.
Amongst These she achieved ended up Qhino and Makatse.
Risk-free platform wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at the time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.
“Failure to possess a dedicated anti-corruption channel will end in workers presenting these instances outside of the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its conclusions.
“Offered the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it stays important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its concentration is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated against and by ensuring an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform devoid of staying intimidated.”
It advisable that the NLC build a “Risk-free channel” for employees to offer information on any “untoward action” that will not reduce or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, depending on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is often a requirement.”
Media studies Nene stated
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of your Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The posting experienced aspects of knowledge not offered in the public area, therefore elevating concern on interior Data safety breaches. The allegations in the media were being independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Nonetheless, employees to blame for divulging categorized info have however to generally be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up published via the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations in the Limpopo Mirror short article printed on 10 December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a former employee from the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the risk caused on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting during the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been finished. “The Lowvelder report contained classified facts with regards to NLC plan, elevating further more considerations of inside information safety breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened details safety pitfalls in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Major Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had verified in its story that it was depending on leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Information and facts) request for particulars concerning the challenge, she explained