Previous National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at enough time mentioned media experiences she said were depending on “stolen” details in an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It identified the information wasn't a make a difference of point out safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” with the media to reveal it.
A new board and management has because taken around the NLC and So far have taken actions to finish corruption at the institution.
A State Security Company (SSA) investigation identified that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied enough motive” for exposure through the media.
The probe into meant “information stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security company’s “private” results and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to investigate the position of NLC team within the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined unique media and stories that she claimed concerned these leaks.
Inside the letter outlining its findings, the SSA told the NLC that when preserving condition facts was “a authorized imperative aimed toward preserving the sovereignty and integrity from the condition” this only applied to properly categorized data.
Although it did not say so immediately, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked details didn't slide into this classification.
Drastically, the SSA designed it obvious that the need to guard state facts “will not reduce any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.
The SSA investigation identified the NLC information and facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, but not labeled in terms of the prescripts in the Bare minimum Data Protection Criteria (Pass up)”.
“The leakage with the applicable delicate official NLC information to the media would not pose a menace to national stability,” the SSA explained, including which the effect of the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report observed “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature towards any of your suspected NLC personnel that could be recognized from the data and data interrogated”.
What's more, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer ample motive to own these uncovered during the media”.
Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information “stolen” within the NLC was sent to the US, where by he claimed it had been being marketed to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.
He was repeating comparable statements he experienced previously designed in Parliament, which integrated advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was careful not to name both.
“I came below in this August residence very last 12 months and claimed to honourable users that information about our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and put in a single point out in the united states,” he advised MPs.
“We named about the State Stability Company to come look into the make any difference mainly because we're getting stories that our info is building funds for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There's been communicate, naturally from one source, one particular media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs which the SSA investigation were done almost a year earlier.
Proactive funding was at the guts of the looting of the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant course of action. The NLC could by itself recognize a project to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to oversee it.
Right after Nevhutanda very first told Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to investigate the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued a press release saying that his remarks reflected “an especially hazardous Frame of mind where by the media is being blamed for your NLC’s inherent complications”.
“Rather then investigating why millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has in its place tried to cast doubt on the integrity of the journalists included and it has requested the SSA to analyze their resources.”
Proactive assignments built magic formula
Security flaws identified within the NLC grant funding program over the SSA’s investigation, surface to are already employed being an justification from the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants technique.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘top secret’ and initiatives had been faraway from the grant funding technique and managed manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Office, Government Manager Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] info,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
“There was many interior dialogue, with plenty of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was within a senior place with the NLC at time, instructed GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive tasks through the method and Restrict entry to A few persons”.
Some in that handful of men and women had been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC many decades ago, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He been given R4.three-million from lottery resources allotted to build a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he employed to create a property in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The property is among many paid for with lottery funds which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device acquired a preservation order in December 2022.
The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to superior-ups while in the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which confused the NLC on their look at.
Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got since died.
Whenever a new administration, including the whole board and executive, took above on 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-based mostly. Crucial documents ended up missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage company Metrofile had been signed out and by no means returned.
The NLC was ready to Recuperate copies of some หวย ลาว ออก วัน นี้ สด paperwork from its Mimecast email archiving system and the laptops in their assistants and help staff.
Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave problem possible data protection breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential info obtained on account of undertaking official capabilities from the Commission by NLC employees. The functions are intended to undermine the integrity of your Commission though disrupting the powerful capabilities [on the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational damage into the Commission since the custodian of private info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request for that SSA to analyze was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present going through a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her view.
The purpose of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to record the events which transpired concerning facts protection breaches in the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.
She outlined many news experiences which she claimed ended up the outcomes of such “breaches” (see at the end of this information).
Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its staff, Sello Qhino, experienced “provided her classified NLC Data and persistently inspired her to deliver the data to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman following attempts to raise The difficulty internally were being disregarded, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article from the Day-to-day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene stated which the NLC determined after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff while in the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the partner along with the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three little ones.
Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, With all the NLC paying out R470,000 on legal professionals to signify it, but was identified not guilty and allowed to return to work.
“The typical Consider these posts is usually that [they contain] classified information and facts referring to proactive funding projects,” Nene stated in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the spouse and children dwelling to go ahead and take heat off her and his kids. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Business within an empty factory belonging to a pal.
Equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the damage some individuals suffered at the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, fiscal compensation are anticipated.
“Some persons have been definitely affected quite negatively by this … This is really unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Daily Maverick final yr.
“I satisfied two or three these people. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their entire life are already turned the other way up,” mentioned Scholtz.
Between those she met have been Qhino and Makatse.
Risk-free System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show into the media.
“Failure to possess a dedicated anti-corruption channel will bring about staff presenting this sort of cases outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its results.
“Specified the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it remains important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts Which its concentrate is on making certain that illegal and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by making certain an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out with no currently being intimidated.”
It encouraged the NLC establish a “Secure channel” for workers to provide info on any “untoward exercise” that may not reduce or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based on the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a need.”
Media studies Nene listed
A 10 December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator on the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The write-up experienced things of information not available in the public area, thus raising issue on inner Facts protection breaches. The allegations from the media were being independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Nonetheless, staff members responsible for divulging labeled facts have nevertheless for being discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 post revealed through the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations from your Limpopo Mirror post released on ten December 2017 and also a new allegation relating to a former personnel by the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for that threat induced to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting within the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been finished. “The Lowvelder post contained classified information and facts with regard to NLC coverage, boosting more fears of inside information and facts protection breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts safety challenges throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it had been based upon leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Information and facts) ask for for specifics with regard to the job, she explained