Previous National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Condition Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s organization secretary at time shown media stories she claimed ended up according to “stolen” info within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the data was not a matter of condition security and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” to the media to expose it.
A different board and management has considering the fact that taken above the NLC and Up to now have taken measures to end corruption with the establishment.
A Point out Stability Company (SSA) investigation discovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented sufficient motive” for exposure with the media.
The probe into intended “data protection breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote towards the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at this time suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to research the function of NLC team while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined specific media and studies that she claimed associated these leaks.
Inside the letter outlining its results, the SSA explained to the NLC that whilst shielding point out information was “a legal crucial aimed toward safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity with the condition” this only applied to appropriately classified information.
Even though it did not say so straight, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked data did not tumble into this group.
Substantially, the SSA produced it apparent that the need to protect condition info “would not avoid any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.
The SSA investigation uncovered that the NLC details involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, but not classified regarding the prescripts of your Minimum Info Safety Expectations (Overlook)”.
“The leakage with the suitable delicate official NLC info towards the media does not pose a danger to nationwide security,” the SSA reported, incorporating that the impact with the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report identified “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature towards any of your suspected NLC personnel that may be determined from the data and information interrogated”.
In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver ample motive to possess these kinds of uncovered during the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which data “stolen” from your NLC was despatched into the US, the place he claimed it absolutely was getting marketed to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.
He was repeating very similar promises he had Formerly produced in Parliament, which integrated ad hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to name both.
“I arrived below in this August dwelling last calendar year and reported to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and place in a single condition in America,” he advised MPs.
“We referred to as about the State Security Company to come look into the make any difference for the reason that we have been obtaining experiences that our details is creating income for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There was speak, obviously from one particular source, 1 media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but failed to inform MPs that the SSA investigation were completed Nearly a calendar year previously.
Proactive funding was at the heart of your looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the normal grant course of action. The NLC could by itself determine a task to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to oversee it.
After Nevhutanda very first instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued a press release expressing that his remarks reflected “an incredibly perilous Mind-set wherever the media is staying blamed to the NLC’s inherent troubles”.
“Instead of investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has instead made an effort to Forged doubt within the integrity of your journalists involved and has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”
Proactive assignments made solution
Protection flaws discovered within the NLC grant funding program over the SSA’s investigation, surface to have been used being an justification because of the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants method.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘key’ and jobs were being removed from the grant funding process and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Data Place of work, Govt Manager Authorized in order to safeguard [the] data,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.
“There was a lot of inner discussion, with a great deal of forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior place in the NLC at the time, explained to GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to remove all the proactive jobs within the technique and Restrict access to a handful of persons”.
Some in that handful of people have been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC several several years back, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to develop a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he employed to create a residence in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The assets is one of a number of compensated for with lottery cash that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation purchase in December 2022.
The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near superior-ups during the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own look at.
Also implicated are former board customers William Huma, who resigned immediately after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has given that died.
Whenever a new administration, such as the complete board and government, took over at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation relating to proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-centered. Essential paperwork have been missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage business Metrofile had been signed out and by no means returned.
The NLC was in the position to Get well copies of some ตรวจ paperwork from its Mimecast e mail archiving procedure as well as the laptops of their assistants and aid staff.
Information studies
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave issue probable details security breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts obtained because of undertaking Formal functions in the Fee by NLC staff. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission when disrupting the effective functions [of the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational harm to your Fee since the custodian of non-public data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request for the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at this time going through a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her check out.
The purpose of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to record the functions which transpired concerning info safety breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.
She mentioned a variety of information stories which she claimed were being the effects of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this short article).
Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its workers, Sello Qhino, experienced “delivered her labeled NLC Details and persistently inspired her to offer the information to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman right after tries to raise The problem internally were being dismissed, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 article inside the Each day Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene claimed which the NLC discovered then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel from the NLC’s East London Business, who was the husband or wife and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three kids.
Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Along with the NLC shelling out R470,000 on lawyers to characterize it, but was identified not responsible and permitted to return to work.
“The popular factor in these content is the fact that [they require] categorised info regarding proactive funding projects,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family members property to go ahead and take warmth off her and his kids. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a colleague.
Both equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the harm a number of people suffered for the hands with the NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economical compensation are predicted.
“Some individuals ended up truly impacted incredibly negatively by this … This is actually unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day by day Maverick last year.
“I met a number of these men and women. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their entire life have been turned the other way up,” reported Scholtz.
Between People she satisfied were Qhino and Makatse.
Harmless platform needed for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at enough time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn into the media.
“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in personnel presenting this kind of scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA stated in its results.
“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it continues to be essential that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its target is on making certain that illegal and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated against and by making sure an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform devoid of currently being intimidated.”
It advisable that the NLC build a “Safe and sound channel” for employees to provide info on any “untoward activity” that may not avert or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, can be a need.”
Media reviews Nene stated
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Overall health and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of your Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The article experienced things of data not readily available in the public domain, thus boosting worry on inner Info stability breaches. The allegations during the media were being independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Even so, staff accountable for divulging categorised data have however to generally be recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 short article published with the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from your Limpopo Mirror posting printed on 10 December 2017 as well as a new allegation regarding a previous worker through the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for your threat triggered towards the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting during the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been completed. “The Lowvelder short article contained categorized information with regard to NLC policy, increasing even more issues of inside information safety breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened info safety pitfalls inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it was based on leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Details) ask for for details with regards to the venture, she explained