Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at the time detailed media stories she reported were determined by “stolen” facts within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It identified the information wasn't a subject of condition security and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” with the media to show it.
A fresh board and administration has considering that taken above the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption in the institution.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation located which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied sufficient motive” for publicity via the media.
The probe into supposed “information and facts safety breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out right after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.
Here is
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at present suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to research the position of NLC workers within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized specific media and stories that she claimed included these leaks.
During the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA advised the NLC that even though preserving condition details was “a lawful crucial aimed toward preserving the sovereignty and integrity of the state” this only applied to appropriately classified info.
Although it didn't say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not slide into this category.
Noticeably, the SSA made it crystal clear that the necessity to secure condition data “would not avoid any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.
The SSA investigation identified that the NLC information involved with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, although not classified when it comes to the prescripts on the Bare minimum Details Stability Specifications (Miss out on)”.
“The leakage of the appropriate delicate Formal NLC information and facts to the media won't pose a danger to national safety,” the SSA reported, including that the impression with the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report identified “no proof of a factual and incriminating character against any with the suspected NLC workers that would be recognized from the information and info interrogated”.
In addition, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give ample motive to acquire these kinds of uncovered in the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which data “stolen” with the NLC was sent on the US, wherever he claimed it had been being sold to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.
He was repeating similar statements he experienced previously designed in Parliament, which incorporated advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to name both.
“I arrived here On this August household last year and noted to honourable associates that information regarding our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and set in a single condition in America,” he told MPs.
“We known as around the Point out Protection Agency to return take a look at the subject due to the fact we are having stories that our details is building income for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There was speak, certainly from a single supply, a person media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation had been finished Practically a 12 months previously.
Proactive funding was at the center in the looting in the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant procedure. The NLC could alone detect a challenge to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to oversee it.
Following Nevhutanda initial explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to research the meant breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a statement expressing that his remarks reflected “a very harmful Mind-set exactly where the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.
“Rather then investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively attempted to Solid doubt within the integrity on the journalists concerned and has asked the SSA to analyze their resources.”
Proactive assignments created key
Security flaws discovered from the NLC grant funding technique through the SSA’s investigation, appear to are actually applied as an excuse by the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants program.
“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 managed manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Place of work, Government Manager Legal as a way to safeguard [the] details,” Nene said in her affidavit.
“There was a great deal of internal dialogue, with a great deal of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in the senior placement in the NLC at enough time, explained to GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to eliminate all of the proactive initiatives within the technique and Restrict access to A few persons”.
Some in that handful of people had been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC a number of a long time ago, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.three-million from lottery funds allocated to make a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he employed to develop a dwelling within an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The house is one of many compensated for with lottery funds that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device attained a preservation get in December 2022.
The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to high-ups during the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own view.
Also implicated are former board associates 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 given that died.
Each time a new administration, including the complete board and executive, took more than in 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-centered. Critical documents were being missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and hardly ever returned.
The NLC was in the position to recover copies of some สลาก กิน รัฐบาล paperwork from its Mimecast e-mail archiving method and the laptops in their assistants and assistance staff.
News reports
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave issue achievable information and facts safety breaches plus the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private details received on account of performing official functions within the Commission by NLC staff. The pursuits are intended to undermine the integrity on the Commission whilst disrupting the successful functions [of the NLC] and causing insurmountable reputational hurt to your Commission as the custodian of private data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request with the SSA to analyze was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is presently dealing with a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her look at.
The objective of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to document the events which transpired concerning information and facts protection breaches in the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.
She mentioned a variety of information studies which she claimed were the final results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).
Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its personnel, Sello Qhino, experienced “delivered her classified NLC Details and persistently encouraged her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman immediately after makes an attempt to boost the issue internally had been ignored, 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 recognized and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff inside the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the lover as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few youngsters.
Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Along with the NLC spending R470,000 on lawyers to symbolize it, but was located not responsible and allowed to return to work.
“The frequent factor in these content articles is always that [they entail] categorized details referring to proactive funding projects,” Nene reported in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the relatives residence to go ahead and take heat off her and his children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Place of work within an empty manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.
The two Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process intended to recognise the damage some people suffered on the arms of the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economic compensation are anticipated.
“Some men and women ended up seriously influenced incredibly negatively by this … This is de facto agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Everyday Maverick final calendar year.
“I fulfilled several these folks. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their whole life happen to be turned the other way up,” mentioned Scholtz.
Among the People she achieved had been Qhino and Makatse.
Harmless platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at the time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to your media.
“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will result in workers presenting these kinds of scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its results.
“Presented the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it continues to be very important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its aim is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular perform is adequately mitigated against and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with no becoming intimidated.”
It proposed that the NLC create a “Secure channel” for employees to deliver info on any “untoward activity” that might not reduce or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based upon the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a necessity.”
Media studies Nene shown
A 10 December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator on the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The article experienced factors of information not out there in the public area, thereby boosting problem on inside Details stability breaches. The allegations inside the media were being independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Having said that, staff chargeable for divulging classified details have still to generally be identified”;
A 28 January 2018 post printed with the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations with the Limpopo Mirror short article released on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation associated with a former staff because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for the risk prompted on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 short article from the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been concluded. “The Lowvelder post contained categorised data with regards to NLC plan, raising even further issues of inside information safety breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts security hazards in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it was depending on leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Info) request for specifics with regard to the challenge, she said