Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to research leaks

Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to research leaks

Blog Article

Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at enough time detailed media reviews she mentioned ended up according to “stolen” information in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the information wasn't a issue of state safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for the media to show it.
A brand new board and administration has given that taken above the NLC and So far have taken measures to end corruption for the establishment.
A Condition Security Company (SSA) investigation observed 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 “details security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to analyze the part of NLC personnel within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified distinct media and studies that she claimed involved these leaks.

Within the letter outlining its findings, the SSA advised the NLC that while safeguarding condition data was “a legal crucial geared toward protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the point out” this only applied to appropriately categorised facts.

Although it didn't say so immediately, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked data didn't drop into this category.

Significantly, the SSA designed it distinct that the necessity to protect state information and facts “doesn't avoid any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation uncovered which the NLC information linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not labeled with regards to the prescripts with the Bare minimum Details Security Criteria (Skip)”.

“The leakage with the related sensitive Formal NLC data for the media isn't going to pose a threat to national protection,” the SSA stated, incorporating the impression with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no evidence of the factual and incriminating mother nature in opposition to any of the suspected NLC employees that might be discovered from the information and details interrogated”.

Furthermore, it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present ample motive to acquire these exposed in the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which details “stolen” with the NLC was despatched on the US, wherever he claimed it absolutely was currently being bought to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.

He was repeating very similar promises he had previously made in Parliament, which bundled advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was mindful not to call both.

“I came listed here In this particular August property past 12 months and noted to honourable customers that details about our beneficiaries is stolen and set in one state in America,” he explained to MPs.

“We referred to as about the Condition Protection Company to come back consider the make a difference due to the fact we've been receiving studies that our data is generating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There was talk, certainly from one particular resource, 1 media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but failed to inform MPs which the SSA investigation were completed Nearly a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting in the lottery. It side-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could by itself discover a task to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.

After Nevhutanda to start with advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Discussion board issued an announcement indicating that his remarks reflected “an incredibly hazardous attitude in which the media is staying blamed with the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“As an alternative to investigating why thousands and thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute made an effort to Solid doubt on the integrity of the journalists associated and it has asked the SSA to investigate their resources.”

Proactive assignments produced top secret
Safety flaws identified in the NLC grant funding process over the SSA’s investigation, look to have already been utilised as an justification by the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded projects from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘top secret’ and initiatives have been removed from the grant funding method and maintained manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Office environment, Government Supervisor Authorized to be able to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was lots of inside dialogue, with a great deal of back and forth, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was in the senior position on the NLC at enough time, explained to GroundUp. “In the end, the decision was taken to get rid of the many proactive initiatives from the program and limit access to a handful of individuals”.

Some in that handful of people were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC several several years in the past, is implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He received R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to create a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to construct a house in an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The house is among many paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation purchase in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near substantial-ups during the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which confused the NLC on their observe.

Also implicated are former board customers William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has because died.

Each time a new administration, such as the entire board and govt, took above with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” in the documentation concerning proactive funding, Substantially of which was paper-based mostly. Critical files were lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage company Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.

The NLC was ready to Recuperate copies of some cat888 documents from its Mimecast email archiving system as well as the laptops in their assistants and help workers.

Information reports
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave concern possible information and facts security breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential details attained because of doing official functions in the Fee by NLC workforce. The things to do are meant to undermine the integrity on the Commission though disrupting the effective features [in the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational hurt on the Commission given that the custodian of non-public details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for your SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC business secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at the moment struggling with a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to history the occasions which transpired regarding information and facts safety breaches for the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She detailed different information stories which she claimed have been the outcomes of those “breaches” (see at the end of this informative article).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “offered her labeled NLC Information and facts and persistently inspired her to provide the information to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on a series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman right after makes an attempt to raise The problem internally had been ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article while in the Everyday Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene reported that the NLC discovered and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee from the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the lover and also the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.

Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC investing R470,000 on lawyers to signify it, but was discovered not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The popular Think about these article content is that [they include] classified information concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the relatives residence to go ahead and take warmth off her and his small children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an vacant manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.

Equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation course of action meant to recognise the hurt many people experienced at the hands on the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, financial compensation are predicted.

“Some people today had been truly afflicted quite negatively by this … This is absolutely painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day-to-day Maverick last 12 months.

“I met a handful of these people. It had been just so coronary heart-wrenching that their whole lives are turned upside down,” mentioned Scholtz.

Between Those people she met had been Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at some time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

“Failure to have a dedicated anti-corruption channel will result in workforce presenting these types of conditions beyond the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its conclusions.

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in state establishments, it remains important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts and that its emphasis is on ensuring that illegal and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated against and by guaranteeing an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without having staying intimidated.”

It recommended that the NLC establish a “Protected channel” for employees to supply information on any “untoward activity” that will not avoid or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, according to the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a requirement.”

Media reports Nene outlined
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator in the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The post experienced features of information not readily available in the general public area, thereby elevating problem on inside Information and facts security breaches. The allegations inside the media have been independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Having said that, employees accountable for divulging classified info have however to be discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 short article revealed through the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations within the Limpopo Mirror report published on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation concerning a former worker by the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed with the threat induced into the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up from the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Regardless of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been finished. “The Lowvelder write-up contained categorized info with regards to NLC policy, boosting even further worries of inner information protection breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened details stability dangers in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Principal Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp had confirmed in its story that it was determined by leaked NLC files. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Usage of Information and facts) ask for for details regarding the undertaking, she mentioned

https://javorka.online
https://ufabetsea.online
https://ufabetwine.online
https://ufabetsc.online
https://ufabethunter.online
https://ufawinbet.site
https://sagaming99.site
https://sagaming93.online
https://sagaming92.online
https://sagaming91.online
https://sagaming90.online
https://javbom.online
https://javcanna.online
https://javmini.online
https://javoops.online
https://javhubs.online
https://javep.online
https://javzooms.online
https://javporns.online
https://javbros.online
https://sagamings.online
https://huaylnw.shop
https://huayka.shop
https://huaynaja.shop
https://huay1.site
https://huay2.site
https://huay3.site
https://huay4.site
https://huay5.site
https://huay6.site
https://edeltanet.com