Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Company to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Company to research leaks

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Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the State Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at some time stated media experiences she explained were according to “stolen” facts in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It identified the data wasn't a subject of state safety and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for the media to show it.
A completely new board and management has given that taken above the NLC and To date have taken actions to end corruption for the institution.
A State Safety Agency (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied ample motive” for exposure with the media.

The probe into supposed “details security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to investigate the job of NLC staff members in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit identified certain media and stories that she claimed concerned these leaks.

Inside the letter outlining its results, the SSA informed the NLC that while shielding point out details was “a legal crucial geared toward shielding the sovereignty and integrity of the state” this only applied to correctly labeled information.

Even though it didn't say so straight, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked data did not fall into this category.

Substantially, the SSA produced it apparent that the necessity to safeguard state facts “isn't going to stop any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation discovered the NLC data linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, but not categorised regarding the prescripts of your Minimum Data Protection Specifications (Skip)”.

“The leakage in the pertinent delicate official NLC information and facts for the media would not pose a threat to nationwide safety,” the SSA mentioned, adding the impact of your breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no evidence of a factual and incriminating nature versus any with the suspected NLC staff that could be recognized from the knowledge and details interrogated”.

What's more, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver sufficient motive to acquire these kinds of uncovered while in the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which info “stolen” in the NLC was despatched for the US, wherever he claimed it was being marketed to fund a smear campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating similar claims he experienced previously created in Parliament, which bundled advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was watchful not to name either.

“I arrived here Within this August house last calendar year and claimed to honourable customers that information regarding our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and place in one condition in America,” he told MPs.

“We known as around the State Protection Agency to return check into the subject because we're finding studies that our details is generating income for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There has been speak, naturally from a person resource, a person media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but didn't notify MPs which the SSA investigation had been done Just about a 12 months previously.

Proactive funding was at the center from the looting of the lottery. It aspect-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could by itself identify a challenge to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda initial informed Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a statement stating that his remarks mirrored “an incredibly unsafe attitude where the media is staying blamed to the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“As opposed to investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has instead attempted to Forged question to the integrity of the journalists included and has questioned the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive jobs created top secret
Security flaws identified within the NLC grant funding method through the SSA’s investigation, surface to are actually made use of as an justification through the NLC to remove all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘secret’ and initiatives were being faraway from the grant funding process and maintained manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Place of work, Government Supervisor Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] info,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of inner dialogue, with lots of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside of a senior place with the NLC at time, advised GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to remove every one of the proactive initiatives with the program and Restrict usage of A few men and women”.

Some in that handful of folks had been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC many decades in the past, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He been given R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to construct a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he utilised to build a household within an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The property is one of several compensated for with lottery resources that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device acquired a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near high-ups within the ANC Management, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their own observe.

Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has because died.

Each time a new administration, including the overall board and executive, took over within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they uncovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation associated with proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-dependent. Key paperwork were being lacking. Files held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was able to recover copies of some fox888 documents from its Mimecast e mail archiving method plus the laptops of their assistants and help team.

News reviews
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave problem feasible information safety breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information and facts obtained because of executing Formal features inside the Commission by NLC workers. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity of the Fee although disrupting the efficient capabilities [on the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational hurt on the Fee because the custodian of private info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for your SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is now dealing with a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her view.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to report the gatherings which transpired regarding data safety breaches in the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She detailed a variety of news reports which she claimed have been the outcomes of such “breaches” (see at the end of this text).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her categorized NLC Info and persistently inspired her to supply the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman immediately after tries to boost The difficulty internally were being disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article during the Day by day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene reported the NLC discovered and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee inside the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the companion and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three children.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC paying out R470,000 on lawyers to characterize it, but was discovered not responsible and permitted to return to operate.

“The common Consider these articles is [they entail] categorized info referring to proactive funding projects,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the household house to go ahead and take heat off her and his kids. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an office within an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a buddy.

Both of those Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process intended to recognise the harm a lot of people endured on the hands with the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, money compensation are predicted.

“Some individuals had been actually afflicted quite negatively by this … This is really unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day-to-day Maverick very last 12 months.

“I met a few these individuals. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their whole life are turned upside down,” reported Scholtz.

Amid Individuals she fulfilled had been Qhino and Makatse.

Harmless platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at enough time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to your media.

“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will end in employees presenting these kinds of situations beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its findings.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it continues to be very important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its target is on making sure that illegal and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with no becoming intimidated.”

It proposed that the NLC set up a “Secure channel” for workers to provide info on any “untoward exercise” that would not avert or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, according to the Safeguarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is actually a necessity.”

Media stories Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator on the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The posting experienced things of knowledge not readily available in the general public domain, thereby elevating concern on inside Data security breaches. The allegations during the media have been independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Nevertheless, workers responsible for divulging classified information have nevertheless to generally be discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 article printed by the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations from the Limpopo Mirror posting revealed on 10 December 2017 as well as a new allegation associated with a previous worker by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your danger induced towards the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 post during the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has reported how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been completed. “The Lowvelder report contained categorised information and facts in terms of NLC plan, increasing even more worries of inner info security breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened information protection dangers throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it was based upon leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Data) ask for for aspects regarding the task, she explained

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