Former Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Condition Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at the time mentioned media stories she said ended up according to “stolen” facts within an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It identified the knowledge wasn't a subject of point out protection and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” with the media to show it.
A new board and administration has considering the fact that taken around the NLC and To date have taken actions to finish corruption with the institution.
A State Stability Agency (SSA) investigation identified that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented enough motive” for exposure because of the media.
The probe into meant “information protection breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out right after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security agency’s “confidential” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the role of NLC staff members inside the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified particular media and reports that she claimed involved these leaks.
Within the letter outlining its findings, the SSA informed the NLC that though defending condition info was “a legal vital directed at defending the sovereignty and integrity of the state” this only placed on properly categorised information and facts.
Although it didn't say so specifically, the SSA results implied that the allegedly leaked details did not fall into this category.
Drastically, the SSA designed it apparent that the need to safeguard point out data “doesn't reduce any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.
The SSA investigation identified which the NLC information and facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in nature, but not classified in terms of the prescripts of your Minimal Facts Stability Requirements (Pass up)”.
“The leakage of your applicable sensitive official NLC details to the media does not pose a danger to national stability,” the SSA explained, adding the influence from the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of a factual and incriminating nature in opposition to any of your suspected NLC workforce that could be recognized from the information and facts interrogated”.
In addition, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present sufficient motive to get this kind of uncovered in the media”.
Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein details “stolen” through the NLC was sent to your US, wherever he claimed it was remaining offered to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.
He was repeating equivalent promises he had Beforehand produced in Parliament, which provided ad hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was watchful not to call both.
“I arrived listed here in this August dwelling previous calendar year and documented to honourable users that specifics of our beneficiaries is stolen and place in a single condition in the united states,” he advised MPs.
“We called on the Condition Stability Agency to return look into the issue simply because we are obtaining reviews that our data is generating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There have been discuss, obviously from a single source, one particular media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not notify MPs the SSA investigation had been done Pretty much a yr previously.
Proactive funding was at the guts of the looting from the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant system. The NLC could itself establish a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to supervise it.
Soon after Nevhutanda to start with told Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued a statement indicating that his remarks reflected “an extremely unsafe attitude wherever the media is remaining blamed for the NLC’s inherent issues”.
“As an alternative to investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has instead tried to Forged doubt over the integrity with the journalists concerned and it has asked the SSA to analyze their sources.”
Proactive initiatives created solution
Stability flaws identified from the NLC grant funding method in the SSA’s investigation, surface to have been employed as an justification by the NLC to eliminate 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 ‘top secret’ and tasks ended up faraway from the grant funding procedure and managed manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Workplace, Executive Manager Lawful as a way to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene said in her affidavit.
“There was plenty of inner dialogue, with numerous forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a very senior position in the NLC at some time, instructed GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to eliminate each of the proactive projects through the method and limit usage of A few individuals”.
Some in that handful of people had been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC various a long time ago, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery money allotted to construct a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he applied to make a property in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The home is one of various compensated for with lottery funds that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation order in December 2022.
The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to substantial-ups during the ANC Management, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which confused the NLC on their own look at.
Also implicated are previous board customers William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has because died.
Whenever a new administration, such as the full board and government, took above with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they learned a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation regarding proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-centered. Important paperwork ended up lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage firm Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.
The NLC was in a position to Recuperate copies of some ผล หวย ลาว paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving process and the laptops of their assistants and aid team.
Information stories
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has observed with grave worry doable info safety breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data obtained as a result of accomplishing official functions during the Commission by NLC staff. The things to do are meant to undermine the integrity from the Commission while disrupting the successful features [on the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational hurt into the Fee since the custodian of personal info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for for the SSA to analyze was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present dealing with a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her watch.
The objective of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to report the activities which transpired relating to data security breaches in the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.
She mentioned a variety of news stories which she claimed were being the outcomes of these “breaches” (see at the end of this post).
Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its employees, Sello Qhino, experienced “presented her classified NLC Info and persistently inspired her to supply the information to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman following tries to raise The problem internally were being dismissed, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting while in the Every day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene reported which the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff within the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the companion along with the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three youngsters.
Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, with the NLC expending R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was found not responsible and permitted to return to operate.
“The widespread factor in these articles or blog posts is always that [they entail] classified data referring to proactive funding jobs,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the loved ones home to take the heat off her and his small children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an office in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a pal.
Equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process meant to recognise the damage a lot of people endured for the palms from the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economical compensation are envisioned.
“Some persons have been truly afflicted really negatively by this … This is really unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Every day Maverick very last calendar year.
“I achieved a couple of these folks. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their entire lives are already turned the other way up,” said Scholtz.
Among the Those people she fulfilled ended up Qhino and Makatse.
Safe System essential for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at the time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.
“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will lead to staff presenting this kind of instances beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its conclusions.
“Provided the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it stays vital that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its emphasis is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated against and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without the need of currently being intimidated.”
It advised the NLC establish a “Risk-free channel” for employees to supply information on any “untoward activity” that would not stop or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, dependant on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is a prerequisite.”
Media reviews Nene listed
A 10 December 2017 report inside 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 from the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report experienced features of data not obtainable in the general public domain, therefore increasing worry on inside Facts protection breaches. The allegations during the media were being independently investigated,” Nene said. “Nonetheless, workers answerable for divulging categorized info have nonetheless to get identified”;
A 28 January 2018 short article printed via the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations in the Limpopo Mirror posting printed on 10 December 2017 in addition to a new allegation associated with a previous staff from the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed to the menace caused for the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting in the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Regardless of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been finished. “The Lowvelder post contained classified information and facts in terms of NLC plan, elevating additional fears of inner information safety breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened facts security pitfalls throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Main Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it absolutely was according to leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Entry to Details) request for particulars in regards to the undertaking, she mentioned