Previous National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at some time mentioned media reports she stated had been determined by “stolen” facts in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the information wasn't a issue of state protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for the media to reveal it.
A brand new board and administration has given that taken around the NLC and So far have taken actions to finish corruption at the institution.
A State Safety Agency (SSA) investigation observed which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided ample motive” for publicity by the media.
The probe into supposed “info security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.
Here is
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the purpose of NLC workers in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered certain media and stories that she claimed involved these leaks.
While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA told the NLC that although preserving point out info was “a legal critical targeted at shielding the sovereignty and integrity of your point out” this only placed on properly categorized info.
Although it didn't say so right, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not fall into this group.
Drastically, the SSA produced it clear that the need to protect condition info “won't avoid any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation observed which the NLC details involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not categorised when it comes to the prescripts on the Least Information and facts Stability Standards (MISS)”.
“The leakage of the relevant delicate Formal NLC data for the media doesn't pose a risk to nationwide safety,” the SSA explained, adding that the effect with the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of the factual and incriminating character from any of your suspected NLC personnel that might be determined from the knowledge and info interrogated”.
In addition it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver enough motive to obtain these kinds of exposed from the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which info “stolen” within the NLC was despatched for the US, the place he claimed it had been staying bought to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.
He was repeating very similar claims he experienced Earlier manufactured in Parliament, which provided ad hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to name both.
“I came below Within this August property very last calendar year and reported to honourable members that information about our beneficiaries is stolen and place in one point out in the usa,” he explained to MPs.
“We identified as to the Condition Security Company to come back explore the make a difference simply because we've been receiving reports that our information and facts is creating cash for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There's been converse, obviously from a person source, a single media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but failed to explain to MPs the SSA investigation had been concluded Pretty much a calendar year before.
Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting of your lottery. It facet-stepped the conventional grant approach. The NLC could by itself recognize a venture to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to supervise it.
Just after Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued a press release stating that his remarks mirrored “a particularly risky Mindset wherever the media is becoming blamed for that NLC’s inherent problems”.
“As an alternative to investigating why tens of millions can not be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative tried to cast doubt around the integrity from the journalists involved and it has questioned the SSA to research their sources.”
Proactive projects made secret
Stability flaws determined inside the NLC grant funding method during the SSA’s investigation, show up to are already utilized being an justification with the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants system.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and assignments were being removed from the grant funding program and preserved manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Workplace, Executive Manager Lawful in order to safeguard [the] info,” Nene stated in her affidavit.
“There was lots of internal dialogue, with numerous backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in the senior place at the NLC at enough time, informed GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to eliminate each of the proactive jobs through the system and limit use of A few individuals”.
Some in that handful of men and women were being implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC various years ago, is implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He acquired R4.3-million from lottery money allocated to build a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he utilized to build a house within an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The home is among various paid for with lottery cash which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation get in December 2022.
The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to large-ups inside the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overcome the NLC on their check out.
Also implicated are previous board associates William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got since died.
Whenever a new administration, including the total board and government, took about within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” within the documentation referring to proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-based. Important paperwork were being missing. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage business Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.
The NLC was ready to Recuperate copies of some ผล หวย ลาว วัน นี้ documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving process and the laptops in their assistants and aid staff members.
News reports
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave issue achievable information safety breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential details received on account of carrying out official functions inside the Commission by NLC personnel. The functions are meant to undermine the integrity on the Commission although disrupting the powerful functions [from the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational harm into the Commission because the custodian of private facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request with the SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is presently experiencing a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.
The goal of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to report the events which transpired referring to data protection breaches within the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.
She mentioned many information stories which she claimed ended up the effects of those “breaches” (see at the end of this post).
Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its workers, Sello Qhino, experienced “offered her classified NLC Information and facts and persistently encouraged her to deliver the information to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman after makes an attempt to boost The difficulty internally had 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 and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel from the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the lover plus the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few small children.
Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, While using the NLC shelling out R470,000 on lawyers to depict it, but was discovered not responsible and permitted to return to operate.
“The frequent Think about these posts is the fact [they involve] categorized facts relating to proactive funding tasks,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the relatives dwelling to go ahead and take heat off her and his young children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Office environment in an vacant 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 suffered within the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, financial compensation are envisioned.
“Some people ended up really 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 folks. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their whole life are actually turned the wrong way up,” explained Scholtz.
Amongst Individuals she met ended up Qhino and Makatse.
Risk-free platform desired for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at the time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to your media.
“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will bring about staff presenting such situations beyond the NLC,” the SSA said in its findings.
“Provided the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it continues to be very important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its focus is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated in opposition to and by making certain an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with out being intimidated.”
It recommended the NLC set up a “safe channel” for workers to provide info on any “untoward activity” that could not avoid or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based on the Safeguarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is actually a prerequisite.”
Media experiences Nene detailed
A ten December 2017 report during the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor on the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The write-up had components of information not accessible in the general public area, thereby raising issue on inside Data security breaches. The allegations in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Nevertheless, workforce to blame for divulging classified facts have however being identified”;
A 28 January 2018 report posted from the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations within the Limpopo Mirror article printed on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation regarding a former worker through the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the danger prompted to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up within the Lowvelder concerning 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 accomplished. “The Lowvelder post contained labeled info with regard to NLC policy, elevating even further issues of inner facts stability breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened data protection pitfalls in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp had confirmed in its Tale that it had been according to leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Use of Details) ask for for information regarding the project, she explained