Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks
Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks
Blog Article
Former Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Condition Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s enterprise secretary at some time listed media reviews she mentioned had been determined by “stolen” data in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the information wasn't a issue of point out protection and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for the media to reveal it.
A brand new board and management 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 enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to analyze the position of NLC employees from the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined particular media and studies that she claimed associated these leaks.
Within the letter outlining its results, the SSA instructed the NLC that while safeguarding condition information and facts was “a lawful crucial geared toward safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity with the condition” this only applied to appropriately classified information and facts.
Even though it did not say so straight, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked data did not slide into this class.
Considerably, the SSA made it crystal clear that the need to secure state information and facts “isn't going to prevent any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation located which the NLC info associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, although not labeled in terms of the prescripts in the Bare minimum Facts Protection Criteria (Pass up)”.
“The leakage of your applicable delicate official NLC details towards the media doesn't pose a danger to nationwide safety,” the SSA said, introducing that the impact with the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report identified “no proof of a factual and incriminating character versus any on the suspected NLC workforce that may be determined from the data and information interrogated”.
In addition it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer enough motive to acquire this sort of uncovered while in the media”.
Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which data “stolen” with the NLC was despatched on the US, the place he claimed it was being bought to fund a smear marketing campaign towards the NLC.
He was repeating similar statements he experienced previously designed in Parliament, which incorporated advert hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was watchful not to call possibly.
“I came listed here During this August home previous 12 months and claimed to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one state in America,” he told MPs.
“We known as around the State Stability Agency to come consider the matter because we have been receiving reports that our information and facts is making funds for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There was talk, not surprisingly from 1 supply, one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but failed to inform MPs that the SSA investigation had been accomplished Just about a calendar year before.
Proactive funding was at the guts of your looting of the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could alone establish a job to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to oversee it.
Right after Nevhutanda initial told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced asked the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement saying that his remarks mirrored “a particularly perilous Perspective where by the media is currently being blamed with the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.
“Rather then investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute made an effort to Forged question to the integrity of your journalists associated and it has requested the SSA to research their sources.”
Proactive tasks produced magic formula
Security flaws discovered from the NLC grant funding process in the course of the SSA’s investigation, seem to happen to be made use of as an justification through the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants procedure.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘secret’ and initiatives have been faraway from the grant funding technique and maintained manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Office, Government Supervisor Lawful in an effort to safeguard [the] information,” Nene explained in her affidavit.
“There was a lot of internal discussion, with a great deal of forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a senior place with the NLC at enough time, instructed GroundUp. “In the long run, the decision was taken to remove all of the proactive tasks in the method and Restrict use of a handful of people”.
Some in that handful of folks ended up implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC a number of decades in the past, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He obtained R4.three-million from lottery resources allocated to develop a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he utilized to develop a house in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The assets is among several paid for with lottery money that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation order 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 Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which confused the NLC on their own view.
Also implicated are previous board associates William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got due to the fact died.
Each time a new administration, including the complete board and government, took about with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation associated with proactive funding, much of which was paper-centered. Key files were missing. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and never returned.
The NLC was capable to Recuperate copies of some หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 วัน นี้ files from its Mimecast e mail archiving process as well as laptops in their assistants and assist team.
Information stories
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave problem possible facts protection breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data attained because of accomplishing Formal functions from the Fee by NLC workers. The routines are meant to undermine the integrity on the Commission when disrupting the powerful features [of the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational damage on the Commission since the custodian of personal data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request for the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is now struggling with a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her view.
The objective of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to file the events which transpired associated with information and facts protection breaches at the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.
She stated different news reviews which she claimed have been the outcome of these “breaches” (see at the end of this informative article).
Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its workers, Sello Qhino, experienced “offered her classified NLC Facts and persistently encouraged her to deliver the information to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman following makes an attempt to lift the issue internally have been disregarded, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 write-up from the Daily Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene reported which the NLC discovered and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee in the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the companion as well as the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 young children.
Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC paying R470,000 on legal professionals to symbolize it, but was found not guilty and permitted to return to operate.
“The frequent Think about these posts is the fact [they involve] categorized data concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the spouse and children dwelling to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Business within an empty manufacturing unit belonging to an acquaintance.
Both equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation process meant to recognise the harm some people experienced with the hands of your NLC. Apologies and, in some instances, financial compensation are envisioned.
“Some men and women were genuinely afflicted really negatively by this … This is admittedly painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Each day Maverick past year.
“I met several these persons. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their complete lives are already turned the wrong way up,” mentioned Scholtz.
Amid Individuals she met were Qhino and Makatse.
Safe System necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered the absence at some time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show to your media.
“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will result in staff members presenting this sort of conditions outside of the NLC,” the SSA explained in its conclusions.
“Offered the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it stays very important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all security prescripts and that its target is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular conduct is adequately mitigated towards and by ensuring an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with out becoming intimidated.”
It suggested which the NLC create a “Protected channel” for employees to offer information on any “untoward exercise” that might not stop or discourage workforce from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based on the Secured Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, can be 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 fitness and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor on the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The short article experienced things of data not readily available in the general public domain, thereby boosting worry on inside Data safety breaches. The allegations within the media were being independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “On the other hand, staff accountable for divulging categorised details have yet to get identified”;
A 28 January 2018 report published with the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from your Limpopo Mirror short article posted on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation associated with a former worker with the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed to the risk triggered for the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article in the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder short article contained classified information and facts regarding NLC plan, elevating further more considerations of inside information safety breaches,” Nene explained in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened data protection challenges in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp had verified in its story that it was based on leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Data) request for aspects with regard to the task, she stated