Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Point out Protection Company to analyze leaks

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Former National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Condition Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at time detailed media stories she claimed ended up according to “stolen” info within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It discovered the data was not a matter of point out safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for your media to show it.
A whole new board and management has since taken over the NLC and So far have taken steps to end corruption on the institution.
A Point out Safety Company (SSA) investigation located the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered enough motive” for exposure from the media.

The probe into supposed “information and facts safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken soon after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to investigate the role of NLC personnel within the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered distinct media and studies that she claimed associated these leaks.

In the letter outlining its results, the SSA explained to the NLC that though protecting state info was “a legal essential aimed toward guarding the sovereignty and integrity with the state” this only applied to correctly classified information and facts.

Although it did not say so instantly, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked information didn't drop into this category.

Considerably, the SSA made it apparent that the need to protect condition information “won't avoid any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation uncovered that the NLC data linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not categorized concerning the prescripts from the Minimal Data Protection Criteria (Pass up)”.

“The leakage of your applicable delicate official NLC details for the media doesn't pose a danger to nationwide safety,” the SSA stated, introducing the impact of your breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature towards any of your suspected NLC staff that could be recognized from the knowledge and data interrogated”.

What's more, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply sufficient motive to own these types of uncovered during the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which data “stolen” from your NLC was sent into the US, the place he claimed it was remaining offered to fund a smear marketing campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating similar statements he experienced Beforehand created in Parliament, which included ad hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was careful not to name either.

“I came listed here During this August home previous 12 months and claimed to honourable users that information about our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and put in one point out in the usa,” he instructed MPs.

“We identified as to the Condition Security Company to come back consider the matter because we've been acquiring reports that our facts is creating money for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There has been chat, of course from one particular resource, just one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but failed to tell MPs the SSA investigation were done Virtually a yr earlier.

Proactive funding was at the center in the looting of the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant process. The NLC could itself recognize a project to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

Soon after Nevhutanda first instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a press release declaring that his remarks mirrored “an especially unsafe Mindset in which the media is remaining blamed for the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“In lieu of investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute tried to Forged question about the integrity of the journalists included and it has questioned the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive tasks created mystery
Safety flaws identified during the NLC grant funding process over the SSA’s investigation, look to happen to be made use of as an justification by the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants technique.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘mystery’ and jobs were removed from the grant funding technique and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Workplace, Executive Manager Lawful in order to safeguard [the] info,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was lots of internal dialogue, with a great deal of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was within a senior position for the NLC at time, told GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to get rid of all the proactive assignments from the technique and Restrict access to a handful of persons”.

Some in that handful of people have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC several many years in the past, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He been given R4.three-million from lottery cash allocated to create a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he utilised to create a residence within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The residence is one of quite a few paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to significant-ups within the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which confused the NLC on their own watch.

Also implicated are former board members William Huma, who resigned soon 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.

Every time a new administration, such as the total board and government, took above on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” within the documentation relating to proactive funding, much of which was paper-dependent. Crucial documents ended up missing. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage organization Metrofile were signed out and under no circumstances returned.

The NLC was capable of Get well copies of some luckyvip77 files from its Mimecast e-mail archiving system as well as laptops of their assistants and support staff members.

News stories
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave problem doable details protection breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data received on account of performing official capabilities within the Commission by NLC workers. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission though disrupting the effective capabilities [on the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational harm to the Fee because the custodian of private data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for that SSA to investigate was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC business secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is now going through a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in legal action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her watch.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to history the occasions which transpired associated with facts stability breaches at the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.

She mentioned many information stories which she claimed have been the outcome of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “delivered her categorized NLC Information and persistently inspired her to deliver the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a number of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman just after attempts to boost The problem internally were being disregarded, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 posting while in the Every day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene mentioned which the NLC determined after which you can suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker within the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the partner and also the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to depict it, but was discovered not responsible and permitted to return to work.

“The common Think about these content is always that [they include] categorised details concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the family members dwelling to go ahead and take warmth off her and his kids. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an empty factory belonging to a pal.

Both of those Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the harm some people experienced with the palms in the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, financial payment are envisioned.

“Some people were being truly influenced very negatively by this … This is de facto painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Day by day Maverick last yr.

“I satisfied a handful of these people today. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total life are turned the wrong way up,” explained Scholtz.

Amid Individuals she satisfied have been Qhino and Makatse.

Secure System wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at some time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn for the media.

“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will end in workforce presenting these circumstances beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its results.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in state institutions, it stays vital that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its concentrate is on making certain that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated towards and by ensuring an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without the need of remaining intimidated.”

It encouraged the NLC establish a “Safe and sound channel” for employees to deliver information on any “untoward exercise” that might not prevent or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based upon the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually a requirement.”

Media studies Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The article experienced things of knowledge not offered in the public area, thus increasing problem on internal Info safety breaches. The allegations while in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Even so, staff accountable for divulging labeled info have still to become determined”;
A 28 January 2018 posting printed with the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations in the Limpopo Mirror write-up revealed on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation regarding a previous worker with the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed with the danger brought about on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article during the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been accomplished. “The Lowvelder article contained categorized information regarding NLC plan, raising more fears of internal details protection breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts stability threats throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it had been according to leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Info) ask for for specifics concerning the job, she mentioned