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 Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Stability Company (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 being determined by “stolen” facts in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It discovered the information wasn't a subject of condition stability and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” with the media to reveal it.
A brand new board and administration has due to the fact taken above the NLC and thus far have taken actions to finish corruption in the institution.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation found that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered sufficient motive” for exposure through the media.
The probe into intended “data protection breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken following 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 currently suspended NLC corporation secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety company’s “private” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to investigate the job of NLC team during the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized specific media and studies that she claimed concerned these leaks.
While in the letter outlining its results, the SSA advised the NLC that while protecting point out data was “a legal imperative targeted at preserving the sovereignty and integrity from the condition” this only placed on correctly categorised information and facts.
Even though it did not say so immediately, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not fall into this classification.
Noticeably, the SSA manufactured it very clear that the necessity to defend state data “doesn't reduce any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.
The SSA investigation discovered the NLC information and facts associated with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not labeled with regards to the prescripts on the Minimum amount Information Security Requirements (Skip)”.
“The leakage in the pertinent sensitive Formal NLC information and facts to your media won't pose a risk to national stability,” the SSA explained, adding which the affect from the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature in opposition to any from the suspected NLC staff members that might be discovered from the information and info interrogated”.
It also stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver enough motive to possess these kinds of exposed while in the media”.
Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which information and facts “stolen” with the NLC was sent towards the US, where he claimed it had been becoming bought to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.
He was repeating related promises he had Earlier made in Parliament, which involved advert hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call possibly.
“I came listed here During this August house final yr and described to honourable customers that specifics of our beneficiaries has been stolen and set in a single condition in the united states,” he advised MPs.
“We named within the State Stability Company to come consider the matter because we have been obtaining experiences that our data is producing revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There have been discuss, of course from one particular resource, one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs that the SSA investigation had been finished Just about a 12 months previously.
Proactive funding was at the center on the looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the conventional grant method. The NLC could itself identify a project to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to supervise it.
Right after Nevhutanda initial told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement indicating that his remarks reflected “a very hazardous Angle the place the media is getting blamed with the NLC’s inherent troubles”.
“Instead of investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively tried to cast doubt within the integrity of the journalists included and it has requested the SSA to investigate their sources.”
Proactive assignments built top secret
Stability flaws identified within the NLC grant funding program through the SSA’s investigation, look to are already employed being an excuse by the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants procedure.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘secret’ and assignments were faraway from the grant funding system and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Office, Govt Manager Legal so as to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene said in her affidavit.
“There was lots of internal dialogue, with numerous forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a very senior placement in the NLC at some time, advised GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to eliminate every one of the proactive projects with the method and limit usage of A few folks”.
Some in that handful of folks were implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC quite a few many years ago, 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 several paid out for with lottery money which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation get in December 2022.
The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups from the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their enjoy.
Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has given that died.
Each time a new administration, including the complete board and executive, took more than at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation concerning proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-dependent. Crucial files ended up missing. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage firm Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.
The NLC was in a position to Get well copies of some ตรวจ หวย ลาว files from its Mimecast e mail archiving program and also the laptops in their assistants and help staff.
News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave worry possible data stability breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts attained as a result of carrying out official functions inside the Commission by NLC staff. The pursuits are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission whilst disrupting the efficient capabilities [with the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational damage for the Fee as being the custodian of personal information entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for for the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present struggling with a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her view.
The purpose of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to report the functions which transpired referring to information protection breaches in the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.
She mentioned different information reviews which she claimed were being the outcome of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this text).
Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its employees, Sello Qhino, had “supplied her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a number of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to raise the issue internally were disregarded, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 write-up inside the Every day Dispatch concerning the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene explained that the NLC determined after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff while in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the lover and also the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few kids.
Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC paying out R470,000 on legal professionals to stand for it, but was found not responsible and permitted to return to operate.
“The widespread Consider these articles or blog posts is the fact [they entail] categorized info relating to proactive funding jobs,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the family members home to take the warmth off her and his young children. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment 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 lots of people experienced in the fingers in the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, money payment are predicted.
“Some persons ended up seriously influenced quite negatively by this … This is actually distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Day-to-day Maverick previous 12 months.
“I fulfilled several these folks. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their whole lives happen to be turned the wrong way up,” stated Scholtz.
Amongst All those she fulfilled have been Qhino and Makatse.
Safe System required for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at enough time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn on the media.
“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will cause staff members presenting this kind of situations beyond the NLC,” the SSA explained in its results.
“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it continues to be crucial that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its concentration is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular perform is adequately mitigated versus and by ensuring an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform devoid of staying intimidated.”
It recommended the NLC build a “Safe and sound channel” for employees to offer information on any “untoward action” that could not prevent or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, based on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, can be a need.”
Media reports Nene stated
A 10 December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor with the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The short article experienced elements of information not available in the public domain, thus increasing concern on internal Information protection breaches. The allegations while in the media were independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Even so, workers chargeable for divulging classified information and facts have but to generally be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 short article released via the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations in the Limpopo Mirror report printed on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation relating to a previous employee through the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the danger induced towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 short article in the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC cash involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Regardless of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been concluded. “The Lowvelder short article contained categorized information concerning NLC policy, increasing even further fears of inner information safety breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened data protection threats within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it was determined by leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Entry to Data) request for aspects about the challenge, she explained