Previous Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Stability Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time listed media reviews she mentioned ended up according to “stolen” data in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It identified the information was not a matter of condition security and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for that media to reveal it.
A completely new board and management has due to the fact taken about the NLC and Up to now have taken steps to end corruption in the establishment.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation located which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished enough motive” for exposure because of the media.
The probe into supposed “information protection breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out soon after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote towards the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the part of NLC team within the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit identified unique media and reviews that she claimed associated these leaks.
In the letter outlining its results, the SSA told the NLC that whilst safeguarding condition facts was “a legal crucial aimed at guarding the sovereignty and integrity of the condition” this only placed on appropriately classified info.
Although it did not say so straight, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked details did not fall into this category.
Considerably, the SSA created it crystal clear that the need to secure state information and facts “will not reduce any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation found which the NLC information involved in the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not categorized concerning the prescripts in the Minimal Information and facts Protection Requirements (Miss out on)”.
“The leakage of the suitable delicate Formal NLC details to your media would not pose a threat to countrywide protection,” the SSA said, including that the effect with the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report observed “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature towards any of the suspected NLC staff that may be identified from the data and knowledge interrogated”.
In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present sufficient motive to possess such uncovered within the media”.
Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which facts “stolen” within the NLC was despatched into the US, where by he claimed it was being bought to fund a smear marketing campaign versus the NLC.
He was repeating identical promises he experienced previously designed in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to name both.
“I arrived right here During this August home very last calendar year and noted to honourable customers that specifics of our beneficiaries has been stolen and put in one state in America,” he informed MPs.
“We named to the Condition Protection Agency to come look into the matter simply because we've been having stories that our data is producing money for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There's been talk, not surprisingly from a single resource, a single media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda mentioned (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs that the SSA investigation had been concluded almost a yr previously.
Proactive funding was at the center with the looting of the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant procedure. The NLC could itself recognize a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.
Following Nevhutanda initial told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a statement indicating that his remarks reflected “an extremely risky Perspective where the media is staying blamed for the NLC’s inherent challenges”.
“Instead of investigating why thousands and thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative tried to Solid doubt within the integrity of your journalists associated and it has asked the SSA to investigate their sources.”
Proactive projects built magic formula
Security flaws determined inside the NLC grant funding program in the SSA’s investigation, seem to are actually utilized being an excuse from 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 ‘key’ and tasks had been removed from the grant funding method and maintained manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Place of work, Govt Manager Lawful so that you can safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.
“There was many inner dialogue, with a lot of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was in the senior place for the NLC at the time, instructed GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to remove each of the proactive assignments with the system and Restrict entry to A few individuals”.
Some in that handful of folks were implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned within the NLC various several years ago, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He gained R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to construct a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he utilized to create a household within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The property is among various paid out for with lottery money which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation get in December 2022.
The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to substantial-ups inside the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their own observe.
Also implicated are previous board members William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has since died.
Whenever a new administration, such as the entire board and executive, took about at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” from the documentation relating to proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-based. Important documents were being missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.
The NLC was ready to Recuperate copies of some หวย วัน นี้ paperwork from its Mimecast e-mail archiving system as well as laptops of their assistants and support personnel.
News studies
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave concern doable info protection breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential details received on account of performing official functions within the Commission by NLC staff. The pursuits are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission whilst disrupting the efficient capabilities [of your 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 lawful action to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.
The purpose of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to report the events which transpired referring to data protection breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.
She shown several news reviews which she claimed had 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 labeled NLC Info and persistently inspired her to provide the knowledge to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman right after makes an attempt to lift the issue internally have been overlooked, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article inside the Each day Dispatch concerning the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene mentioned the NLC recognized after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker inside the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the associate as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few young children.
Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, With all the NLC spending R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to work.
“The popular factor in these articles or blog posts is the fact that [they entail] labeled information and facts relating to proactive funding assignments,” Nene explained in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the spouse and children home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a buddy.
The two Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the hurt lots of people endured at the palms from the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, economic payment are expected.
“Some persons had been seriously afflicted really negatively by this … This is admittedly painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Day-to-day Maverick past calendar year.
“I satisfied a few these men and women. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their complete lives have already been turned the wrong way up,” said Scholtz.
Amid Those people she met had been Qhino and Makatse.
Risk-free platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at the time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to the media.
“Failure to possess a devoted anti-corruption channel will bring about personnel presenting this sort of cases outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its findings.
“Presented the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it stays crucial that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentration is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated towards and by making certain an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without having getting intimidated.”
It advisable the NLC establish a “safe channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward exercise” that could not avert or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a need.”
Media reviews Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The report experienced things of data not out there in the general public area, therefore raising concern on interior Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations during the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “Nonetheless, employees responsible for divulging labeled info have still for being determined”;
A 28 January 2018 post revealed by the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations with the Limpopo Mirror article printed on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation regarding a previous personnel because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for your risk brought on towards the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting from the Lowvelder about 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 has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder write-up contained categorised details in terms of NLC coverage, increasing additional worries of interior info safety breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened info security hazards inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it was according to leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Data) request for facts with regards to the undertaking, she reported