Previous National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at enough time mentioned media reports she explained ended up determined by “stolen” data in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It identified the information wasn't a subject of condition safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to show it.
A 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 Point out Safety Company (SSA) investigation discovered the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered ample motive” for exposure because of the media.
The probe into meant “info safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken right after 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 at present suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the role of NLC team while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined particular media and experiences that she claimed involved these leaks.
From the letter outlining its findings, the SSA advised the NLC that while shielding state information and facts was “a legal very important aimed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of your point out” this only placed on correctly labeled information.
Although it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked details didn't slide into this class.
Considerably, the SSA made it apparent that the need to protect condition information “won't avoid any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.
The SSA investigation found that the NLC data linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, but not categorized with regard to the prescripts of the Minimal Data Stability Standards (Pass up)”.
“The leakage in the related sensitive Formal NLC details to the media does not pose a danger to nationwide protection,” the SSA mentioned, including that the effect of the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report observed “no proof of the factual and incriminating nature in opposition to any with the suspected NLC workforce that could be recognized from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.
Furthermore, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give enough motive to have this sort of exposed while in the media”.
Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which info “stolen” in the NLC was despatched on the US, in which he claimed it absolutely was staying offered to fund a smear marketing campaign towards the NLC.
He was repeating similar statements he experienced previously manufactured in Parliament, which included advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was cautious not to name both.
“I arrived in this article On this August household past year and noted to honourable associates that details about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one state in America,” he told MPs.
“We known as on the Point out Protection Agency to return check into the subject due to the fact we are having studies that our info is building income for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There was talk, not surprisingly from 1 supply, a person media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but didn't convey to MPs which the SSA investigation were completed Virtually a yr earlier.
Proactive funding was at the heart from the looting in the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant process. The NLC could alone detect a job to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.
After Nevhutanda to start with instructed Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement saying that his remarks reflected “an extremely unsafe attitude where by the media is currently being blamed for your NLC’s inherent problems”.
“In lieu of investigating why hundreds of thousands can not be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative made an effort to Forged doubt within the integrity with the journalists involved and has asked the SSA to research their sources.”
Proactive assignments built secret
Security flaws recognized inside the NLC grant funding technique over the SSA’s investigation, show up to are applied as an excuse by the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants program.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘mystery’ and tasks were being removed from the grant funding procedure and taken care of manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Office, Executive Manager Lawful to be able to safeguard [the] facts,” Nene said in her affidavit.
“There was plenty of inside dialogue, with numerous forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a senior position in the NLC at the time, informed GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to get rid of the many proactive assignments from your program and Restrict use of a handful of people today”.
Some in that handful of men and women have been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC various a long time back, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery funds allocated to develop a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he made use of to build a dwelling in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The residence is among a number of compensated for with lottery money which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation order in December 2022.
The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups during the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which confused the NLC on their observe.
Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has considering that died.
Every time a new administration, including the full board and government, took in excess of in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” during the documentation referring to proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-primarily based. Critical files were lacking. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and in no way returned.
The NLC was capable to Get better copies of some ltpbet documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving process plus the laptops of their assistants and support staff.
Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave concern achievable details stability breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information obtained because of undertaking Formal features from the Fee by NLC staff members. The things to do are meant to undermine the integrity with the Fee even though disrupting the powerful features [from the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational hurt on the Commission given that the custodian of non-public info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for for your SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC enterprise secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present facing a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her look at.
The goal of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to file the gatherings which transpired concerning information security breaches on the National Lotteries Commission”.
She listed various information experiences which she claimed ended up the final results of those “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).
Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “provided 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 assignments in Kuruman after attempts to boost The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an 18 November 2018 write-up from the Daily Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene explained the NLC recognized then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker within the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the companion and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three small children.
Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Along with the NLC paying R470,000 on legal professionals to signify it, but was observed not responsible and allowed to return to work.
“The prevalent Think about these content articles is the fact [they involve] classified details regarding proactive funding jobs,” Nene reported in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the family members house to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Business office in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a friend.
Both Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation method meant to recognise the harm some people endured within the fingers of your NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, economical compensation are anticipated.
“Some people today were genuinely influenced pretty negatively by this … This is actually unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Each day Maverick very last yr.
“I met a handful of these folks. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their full lives are actually turned upside down,” claimed Scholtz.
Among All those she achieved had been Qhino and Makatse.
Safe and sound System required for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at enough time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to the media.
“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will result in workers presenting this sort of circumstances outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its conclusions.
“Specified the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it remains very important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all security prescripts Which its emphasis is on ensuring that unlawful and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated against and by guaranteeing an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with out remaining intimidated.”
It advised the NLC build a “Secure channel” for employees to offer info on any “untoward exercise” that would not avoid or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, dependant on the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is a requirement.”
Media reports Nene listed
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor from the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The short article had things of information not available in the public area, thereby elevating issue on internal Facts security breaches. The allegations while in the media were being independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “On the other hand, employees answerable for divulging categorised information and facts have however for being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 report revealed with the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations with the Limpopo Mirror report revealed on 10 December 2017 and a new allegation concerning a former employee because of the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the danger induced towards the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 post from the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab hasn't been finished. “The Lowvelder report contained labeled information and facts when it comes to NLC policy, elevating more worries of inside facts protection breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened info stability challenges inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Main Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it absolutely was determined by leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Usage of Details) ask for for details in regards to the challenge, she stated