Lottery bosses turned to Condition Protection Company to analyze leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Protection Company to analyze leaks

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Former Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at time mentioned media reviews she explained ended up according to “stolen” details within an affidavit for that SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the data wasn't a make any difference of condition safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to reveal it.
A different board and management has considering that taken more than the NLC and To this point have taken steps to finish corruption in the establishment.
A State Protection Company (SSA) investigation identified the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided sufficient motive” for exposure from the media.

The probe into meant “info protection breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security company’s “private” conclusions and recommendations.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to investigate the purpose of NLC employees in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered certain media and studies that she claimed involved these leaks.

In the letter outlining its results, the SSA told the NLC that although protecting condition facts was “a legal critical geared toward preserving the sovereignty and integrity in the point out” this only applied to correctly categorised data.

Even though it didn't say so immediately, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked data did not fall into this group.

Substantially, the SSA created it obvious that the necessity to secure point out data “isn't going to prevent any person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation identified which the NLC details linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, but not labeled regarding the prescripts on the Bare minimum Data Security Specifications (MISS)”.

“The leakage of your relevant delicate official NLC details towards the media doesn't pose a danger to national stability,” the SSA stated, including the impact on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no evidence of a factual and incriminating character towards any of your suspected NLC employees that would be identified from the data and data interrogated”.

In addition it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer sufficient motive to get these types of uncovered in the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which information “stolen” within the NLC was sent towards the US, where he claimed it absolutely was staying sold to fund a smear campaign from the NLC.

He was repeating comparable statements he experienced previously created in Parliament, which involved advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was watchful not to name either.

“I came below During this August house very last yr and claimed to honourable customers that information about our beneficiaries has been stolen and place in one point out in America,” he instructed MPs.

“We known as about the Point out Stability Agency to come check into the issue because we're receiving studies that our details is generating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There was speak, of course from one source, 1 media, that spoke much about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but failed to tell MPs which the SSA investigation had been concluded Practically a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting on the lottery. It side-stepped the traditional grant procedure. The NLC could itself establish a undertaking to fund and appoint a non-profit organisation to oversee it.

Soon after Nevhutanda initially told Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement expressing that his remarks mirrored “a particularly hazardous Angle exactly where the media is currently being blamed for the NLC’s inherent troubles”.

“Instead of investigating why thousands and thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has instead attempted to Forged doubt on the integrity of your journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive projects built secret
Security flaws determined in the NLC grant funding program throughout the SSA’s investigation, surface to have already been applied being an justification from the NLC to remove all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘secret’ and initiatives have been removed from the grant funding process and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Office, Govt Manager Authorized in an effort to safeguard [the] information,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of internal discussion, with plenty of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was in the senior situation within the NLC at enough time, explained to GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to remove each of the proactive assignments through the technique and limit access to A few persons”.

Some in that handful of individuals were implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC several yrs in the past, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He received R4.three-million from lottery money allotted to create a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to construct a home within an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The property is one of a number of paid out for with lottery resources which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Unit acquired a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near significant-ups from the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated within the corruption which confused the NLC on their own look at.

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

When a new administration, including the whole board and government, took more than with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation relating to proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-centered. Important paperwork have been missing. Information held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and by no means returned.

The NLC was capable to Get well copies of some ผล สลากกินแบ่ง paperwork from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving program and the laptops in their assistants and aid workers.

Information experiences
In his one December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave worry doable info security breaches and the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private facts acquired because of performing Formal capabilities while in the Commission by NLC employees. The things to do are intended to undermine the integrity of the Commission while disrupting the productive functions [with the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Fee as the custodian of personal facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for the SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC firm secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently dealing with a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to set aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to report the functions which transpired associated with data security breaches at the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She mentioned a variety of news experiences which she claimed were being the final results of these “breaches” (see at the end of this post).

Nene mentioned that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its personnel, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her classified NLC Information and persistently encouraged her to deliver the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman just after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally have been ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting while in the Daily Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene explained which the NLC discovered and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee within the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the companion and the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 young children.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, with the NLC expending R470,000 on legal professionals to represent it, but was found not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The common factor in these content articles is always that [they include] categorized info associated with proactive funding assignments,” Nene reported in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the family house to take the warmth off her and his kids. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a friend.

Both of those Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation system intended to recognise the harm a number of people endured at the palms from the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, economical payment are expected.

“Some people were being seriously impacted extremely negatively by this … This is actually painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Daily Maverick final calendar year.

“I met several these individuals. It had been just so coronary heart-wrenching that their total life happen to be turned upside down,” explained Scholtz.

Between These she satisfied have been Qhino and Makatse.

Safe and sound System essential for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn for the media.

“Failure to have a dedicated anti-corruption channel will lead to workers presenting such cases beyond the NLC,” the SSA mentioned in its conclusions.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it remains essential that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its emphasis is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated versus and by making certain an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with out getting intimidated.”

It proposed that the NLC establish a “Harmless channel” for employees to provide info on any “untoward action” that might not protect against or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, dependant on the Secured Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a need.”

Media stories Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report while in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner with the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The post had aspects of knowledge not available in the public domain, therefore increasing worry on inside Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations during the media were being independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “Having said that, workforce responsible for divulging categorised information and facts have still to generally be determined”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up published from the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations through the Limpopo Mirror post released on ten December 2017 plus a new allegation relating to a former personnel by the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the threat induced to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up inside the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been accomplished. “The Lowvelder write-up contained classified information and facts concerning NLC coverage, raising even further considerations of interior facts safety breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened info safety challenges throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Major Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it was determined by leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Entry to Details) ask for for information with regards to the undertaking, she stated