Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the State Protection Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at the time shown media reports she explained were being determined by “stolen” facts within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It found the information wasn't a subject of condition security and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for the media to expose it.
A brand new board and administration has because taken in excess of the NLC and To this point have taken steps to end corruption with the establishment.
A State Security Agency (SSA) investigation uncovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied ample motive” for exposure by the media.
The probe into supposed “facts stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.
Here is
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “confidential” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the job of NLC staff members during the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit determined precise media and reviews that she claimed associated these leaks.
While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA explained to the NLC that whilst shielding condition data was “a authorized critical targeted at guarding the sovereignty and integrity with the state” this only applied to properly labeled information.
Although it did not say so right, the SSA results implied the allegedly leaked data did not drop into this group.
Substantially, the SSA designed it apparent that the necessity to secure state information and facts “does not prevent any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.
The SSA investigation identified which the NLC data involved in the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not categorised in terms of the prescripts with the Minimal Facts Security Expectations (Overlook)”.
“The leakage of the applicable delicate Formal NLC information into the media would not pose a danger to national security,” the SSA said, adding which the effects of your breaches was reputational.
The SSA report discovered “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature from any from the suspected NLC staff members which could be recognized from the knowledge and info interrogated”.
It also said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present sufficient motive to possess such uncovered within the media”.
Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which data “stolen” in the NLC was despatched towards the US, exactly where he claimed it had been becoming offered to fund a smear campaign in opposition to the NLC.
He was repeating related promises he experienced Earlier designed in Parliament, which bundled advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was watchful not to call either.
“I arrived right here Within this August residence last 12 months and noted to honourable customers that information about our beneficiaries has been stolen and place in a single point out in America,” he instructed MPs.
“We known as within the Condition Protection Company to return consider the subject for the reason that we've been finding stories that our information is making money for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There have been chat, of course from one source, just one media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but failed to inform MPs which the SSA investigation had been concluded Nearly a calendar year previously.
Proactive funding was at the heart of your looting of your lottery. It aspect-stepped the traditional grant course of action. The NLC could by itself detect a venture to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.
Immediately after Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement saying that his remarks mirrored “an extremely risky Mind-set in which the media is being blamed for the NLC’s inherent challenges”.
“As opposed to investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has in its place tried to Forged question around the integrity of the journalists associated and it has requested the SSA to analyze their sources.”
Proactive initiatives produced solution
Security flaws recognized from the NLC grant funding process in the SSA’s investigation, surface to have been utilized being an excuse via the NLC to eliminate 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 ‘magic formula’ and initiatives had been faraway from the grant funding system and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Office environment, Govt Supervisor Legal in an effort to safeguard [the] information,” Nene explained in her affidavit.
“There was loads of internal discussion, with plenty of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was in a senior posture for the NLC at time, informed GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to get rid of all of the proactive jobs through the method and Restrict access to a handful of men and women”.
Some in that handful of people were implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC quite a few a long time in the past, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.3-million from lottery cash allotted to develop a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he applied to build a house within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The property is among quite a few compensated for with lottery money which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation buy 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 high-ups during the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own check out.
Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has due to the fact died.
Any time a new administration, such as the full board and govt, took around at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they uncovered a “chaotic mess” from the documentation relating to proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based. Vital files have been missing. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage business Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.
The NLC was in a position to recover copies of some ตรวจ หวย ลาว files from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving system as well as laptops of their assistants and assistance team.
Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave worry feasible info protection breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private facts obtained on account of doing Formal features in the Commission by NLC workforce. The functions are meant to undermine the integrity in the Fee though disrupting the successful features [with the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt to the Commission since the custodian of private data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request to the SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is currently dealing with a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.
The objective of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to report the activities which transpired relating to facts security breaches within the National Lotteries Commission”.
She mentioned different information studies which she claimed were the effects of those “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).
Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “provided her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to deliver the knowledge to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman soon after tries to lift the issue internally had been disregarded, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article during the Daily Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene claimed the NLC recognized and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee within the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the partner as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three little ones.
Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Together with the NLC expending R470,000 on attorneys to depict it, but was located not responsible and permitted to return to work.
“The widespread factor in these content is the fact [they require] labeled information associated with proactive funding tasks,” Nene stated in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the household dwelling to go ahead and take heat off her and his youngsters. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Place of work in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a pal.
The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method intended to recognise the damage lots of people endured on the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, money compensation are expected.
“Some persons had been really influenced extremely negatively by this … This is really agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Each day Maverick final yr.
“I fulfilled a couple of these men and women. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their whole lives are already turned the other way up,” said Scholtz.
Among Individuals she met had been Qhino and Makatse.
Secure System wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at some time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn towards the media.
“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will bring about workforce presenting these types of scenarios outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its findings.
“Given the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it remains crucial that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentration is on ensuring that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by making sure an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with out currently being intimidated.”
It encouraged the NLC create a “Risk-free channel” for employees to supply information on any “untoward activity” that may not reduce or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is often a necessity.”
Media reports Nene stated
A 10 December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor with the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The post had factors of knowledge not readily available in the general public area, therefore increasing problem on inner Details safety breaches. The allegations inside the media had been independently investigated,” Nene stated. “Nonetheless, staff liable for divulging classified facts have nevertheless to become determined”;
A 28 January 2018 article revealed by the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations from the Limpopo Mirror report posted on 10 December 2017 as well as a new allegation regarding a previous personnel by the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the danger caused towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article in the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Despite getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been done. “The Lowvelder report contained classified facts regarding NLC plan, raising even further issues of inside info protection breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts stability dangers in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it was determined by leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Entry to Info) ask for for information with regards to the task, she stated