Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks
Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks
Blog Article
Former Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at enough time listed media stories she said have been depending on “stolen” facts within an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It identified the knowledge was not a issue of state safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for 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 for the institution.
A Point out Safety Company (SSA) investigation identified which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented ample motive” for exposure via the media.
The probe into supposed “facts security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.
Here is
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” conclusions and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the purpose of NLC staff members while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit identified particular media and experiences that she claimed concerned these leaks.
While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA instructed the NLC that whilst safeguarding state info was “a authorized critical geared toward preserving the sovereignty and integrity on the point out” this only placed on appropriately classified data.
Although it did not say so instantly, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked information and facts didn't fall into this category.
Noticeably, the SSA made it distinct that the need to shield state info “doesn't stop any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation uncovered the NLC details involved in the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not categorized when it comes to the prescripts of your Bare minimum Information Protection Requirements (Miss out on)”.
“The leakage of the appropriate delicate Formal NLC information on the media would not pose a danger to national security,” the SSA mentioned, including that the effect on the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report observed “no proof of a factual and incriminating nature against any of the suspected NLC employees that could be discovered from the knowledge and info interrogated”.
Furthermore, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply enough motive to own this kind of uncovered in the media”.
Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which details “stolen” through the NLC was despatched to your US, where he claimed it absolutely was being sold to fund a smear marketing campaign versus the NLC.
He was repeating identical promises he had previously made in Parliament, which included advert hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was thorough not to name possibly.
“I came here During this August property final calendar year and noted to honourable users that details about our beneficiaries has been stolen and place in a single point out in America,” he advised MPs.
“We termed around the Condition Protection Company to come back take a look at the matter due to the fact we have been finding stories that our information and facts is building revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There have been converse, not surprisingly from just one source, 1 media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not convey to MPs the SSA investigation were accomplished almost a 12 months before.
Proactive funding was at the heart with the looting from the lottery. It aspect-stepped the traditional grant procedure. The NLC could by itself establish a project to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to supervise it.
Immediately after Nevhutanda first informed Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement indicating that his remarks mirrored “a very perilous Mindset in which the media is being blamed for the NLC’s inherent problems”.
“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has in its place made an effort to Solid doubt around the integrity of the journalists concerned and it has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”
Proactive assignments made solution
Security flaws recognized in the NLC grant funding technique in the SSA’s investigation, appear to are used as an excuse from the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded projects from its central grants method.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘solution’ and jobs had been faraway from the grant funding process and maintained manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Business office, Government Manager Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene reported in her affidavit.
“There was a great deal of inner dialogue, with plenty of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was inside of a senior placement within the NLC at the time, advised GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to remove the many proactive jobs from the program and limit access to A few persons”.
Some in that handful of men and women had been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC quite a few several years ago, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to build a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to make a home in an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The assets is among several paid for with lottery funds which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation buy in December 2022.
The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to high-ups during the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overcome the NLC on their enjoy.
Also implicated are former board users William Huma, who resigned right after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got given that died.
Any time a new administration, including the complete board and government, took over on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” within the documentation associated with proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-based. Important documents were lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and under no circumstances returned.
The NLC was ready to Get well copies of some ltpbet documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving program plus the laptops in their assistants and assist personnel.
News reviews
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave worry achievable details security breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information received as a result of accomplishing official features within the Fee by NLC employees. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity from the Commission when disrupting the effective functions [on the NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Commission because the custodian of personal details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request for your SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is currently facing a disciplinary inquiry after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her view.
The goal of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to record the situations which transpired associated with info protection breaches in the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.
She outlined several information reviews which she claimed ended up the results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this text).
Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its personnel, Sello Qhino, had “offered her categorized NLC Data and persistently encouraged her to provide the data to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman after tries to raise The difficulty internally ended up dismissed, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 report in the Each day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene explained which the NLC identified and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee inside the NLC’s East London Business, who was the companion as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 little ones.
Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, with the NLC spending R470,000 on legal professionals to stand for it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to operate.
“The frequent factor in these articles or blog posts is [they require] categorized facts concerning proactive funding initiatives,” Nene explained in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the spouse and children property to take the heat off her and his children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to an acquaintance.
The two Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method meant to recognise the damage many people suffered for the arms from the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, financial payment are predicted.
“Some folks have been genuinely impacted extremely negatively by this … This is actually painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Each day Maverick previous year.
“I fulfilled a number of these individuals. It had been just so coronary heart-wrenching that their full lives have been turned upside down,” claimed Scholtz.
Among People she achieved were being Qhino and Makatse.
Secure platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at some time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.
“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will end in personnel presenting these scenarios outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its conclusions.
“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it remains vital that it ensures that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its emphasis is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular perform is adequately mitigated towards and by making sure an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform without the need of currently being intimidated.”
It advised that the NLC establish a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward activity” that might not reduce or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, depending on the Safeguarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, can be a prerequisite.”
Media studies Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor of the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The post experienced elements of knowledge not out there in the public domain, thereby increasing issue on internal Information safety breaches. The allegations during the media have been independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “However, staff to blame for divulging labeled data have but to become identified”;
A 28 January 2018 short article revealed from the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations through the Limpopo Mirror post released on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation referring to a former staff from the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the threat induced to your organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 article within the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Despite obtaining R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been accomplished. “The Lowvelder report contained categorized info when it comes to NLC plan, increasing more issues of interior data security breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened details stability dangers inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp had confirmed in its story that it had been based upon leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Use of Data) request for information with regards to the job, she claimed
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