Former National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Stability Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at enough time listed media stories she stated ended up according to “stolen” facts within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It discovered the information was not a make a difference of state security and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to show it.
A completely new board and administration has due to the fact taken about the NLC and To this point have taken measures to finish corruption on the institution.
A Condition Security Company (SSA) investigation discovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered enough motive” for exposure because of the media.
The probe into supposed “facts security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to analyze.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security agency’s “confidential” findings and recommendations.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the role of NLC employees within the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered unique media and stories that she claimed included these leaks.
Inside the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA instructed the NLC that even though defending point out data was “a lawful critical aimed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of the state” this only placed on properly categorized data.
Even though it didn't say so specifically, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked details didn't slide into this classification.
Considerably, the SSA manufactured it very clear that the need to shield state information and facts “will not avert any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.
The SSA investigation located the NLC facts linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, but not labeled with regard to the prescripts with the Bare minimum Information and facts Stability Criteria (Overlook)”.
“The leakage from the applicable delicate official NLC data into the media won't pose a risk to national protection,” the SSA explained, adding the influence on the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report found “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature against any on the suspected NLC employees that might be determined from the data and details interrogated”.
What's more, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities in the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give sufficient motive to possess these types of uncovered during the media”.
Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which facts “stolen” through the NLC was sent to your US, wherever he claimed it was being sold to fund a smear marketing campaign against the NLC.
He was repeating related claims he had Earlier produced in Parliament, which bundled advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was very careful not to call either.
“I came below During this August dwelling past 12 months and documented to honourable associates that information about our beneficiaries is stolen and put in a single state in the usa,” he instructed MPs.
“We termed about the Point out Safety Company to come look into the subject due to the fact we are acquiring experiences that our details is building funds for media platforms and journalists,” he said. “There's been chat, of course from a single supply, a person media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but failed to tell MPs which the SSA investigation were completed Just about a yr before.
Proactive funding was at the center of your looting in the lottery. It facet-stepped the conventional grant system. The NLC could itself establish a venture to fund and appoint a non-financial gain organisation to oversee it.
Immediately after Nevhutanda initial advised Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to investigate the meant breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued an announcement stating that his remarks mirrored “an especially harmful Mind-set wherever the media is being blamed for that NLC’s inherent difficulties”.
“In lieu of investigating why thousands and thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative tried to Forged doubt around the integrity in the journalists associated and it has requested the SSA to research their sources.”
Proactive projects produced magic formula
Stability flaws discovered while in the NLC grant funding method in the SSA’s investigation, seem to have been applied as an excuse via the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded projects from its central grants program.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘secret’ and tasks were being faraway from the grant funding method and taken care of manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Office environment, Executive Manager Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] data,” Nene reported in her affidavit.
“There was a great deal of interior dialogue, with numerous forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior placement in the NLC at enough time, advised GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to eliminate the many proactive tasks with the method and Restrict access to A few people”.
Some in that handful of men and women were implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC various yrs in the past, is implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He been given R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to create a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he applied to construct a dwelling in an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The property is one of a number of paid out for with lottery resources which were frozen once the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation get in December 2022.
The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed since the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near higher-ups inside the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their own check out.
Also implicated are previous 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's got considering that died.
Whenever a new administration, such as the complete board and govt, took above within the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” during the documentation associated with proactive funding, much of which was paper-based mostly. Critical documents had been missing. Files held for safekeeping by document storage organization Metrofile had been signed out and never ever returned.
The NLC was ready to Get better copies of some fox888 files from its Mimecast email archiving program plus the laptops in their assistants and aid employees.
News reports
In his one December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave issue doable facts protection breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information attained due to doing official features during the Fee by NLC workforce. The activities are meant to undermine the integrity of the Commission while disrupting the successful features [in the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational harm to the Fee as being the custodian of personal information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for for your SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present struggling with a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her check out.
The purpose of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to record the activities which transpired concerning details protection breaches within the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.
She outlined a variety of information stories which she claimed were the results of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).
Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its workers, Sello Qhino, experienced “delivered her labeled NLC Details and persistently inspired her to offer the information to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman soon after tries to raise The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an 18 November 2018 posting within the Each day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery resources, Nene said that the NLC recognized and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the companion as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few little ones.
Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, With all the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to depict it, but was discovered not responsible and permitted to return to work.
“The common Think about these content articles is that [they entail] labeled information associated with proactive funding initiatives,” Nene said in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the household dwelling to go ahead and take heat off her and his little ones. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Business within an empty factory belonging to a friend.
Both Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation course of action intended to recognise the harm some individuals experienced for the fingers of the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, fiscal payment are predicted.
“Some people had been actually impacted quite negatively by this … This is de facto unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz advised the Day-to-day Maverick previous year.
“I achieved several these folks. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their full lives are actually turned the wrong way up,” said Scholtz.
Between Those people she met have been Qhino and Makatse.
Harmless System required for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.
“Failure to possess a committed anti-corruption channel will end in personnel presenting these situations outside of the NLC,” the SSA reported in its results.
“Specified the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it stays very important that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentrate is on making certain that illegal and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated from and by guaranteeing an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct devoid of getting intimidated.”
It advisable which the NLC set up a “Protected channel” for employees to deliver information on any “untoward action” that would not avoid or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based on the Guarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is usually a prerequisite.”
Media experiences Nene mentioned
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 in the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The posting had components of information not available in the general public domain, therefore raising problem on interior Information and facts safety breaches. The allegations in the media have been independently investigated,” Nene said. “Nevertheless, workforce to blame for divulging labeled info have still for being identified”;
A 28 January 2018 post published by the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations through the Limpopo Mirror report printed on ten December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a previous personnel from the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your risk induced to the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 write-up during the Lowvelder with regards to the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Despite getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder article contained classified details with regard to NLC plan, boosting further concerns of interior data security breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, on the other hand [it] highlighted the heightened details stability pitfalls within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp experienced verified in its story that it absolutely was based upon leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Entry to Information and facts) request for information concerning the undertaking, she mentioned
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