Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks
Lottery bosses turned to State Security Agency to investigate leaks
Blog Article
Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Safety Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at time stated media reviews she claimed were based upon “stolen” info in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did examine. It found the knowledge was not a subject of point out stability and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for that media to reveal it.
A fresh board and management has considering that taken about the NLC and Up to now have taken steps to end corruption on the establishment.
A Condition Protection Company (SSA) investigation observed that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied sufficient motive” for publicity through the media.
The probe into intended “information security breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to 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 agency’s “private” conclusions and proposals.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the position of NLC employees during the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit identified specific media and experiences that she claimed included these leaks.
Inside the letter outlining its results, the SSA instructed the NLC that although shielding state information and facts was “a lawful critical targeted at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity in the point out” this only applied to correctly categorised information.
Even though it didn't say so immediately, the SSA conclusions implied that the allegedly leaked details didn't drop into this group.
Appreciably, the SSA made it apparent that the necessity to defend state information “does not prevent any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation discovered that the NLC details involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not categorized when it comes to the prescripts from the Minimum Information Security Requirements (Miss out on)”.
“The leakage of the suitable delicate Formal NLC data for the media would not pose a threat to national stability,” the SSA mentioned, incorporating which the effects from the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report found “no proof of a factual and incriminating character towards any of your suspected NLC staff members that might be discovered from the knowledge and facts interrogated”.
In addition it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver ample motive to possess these uncovered during the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Competitiveness portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” where information and facts “stolen” from the NLC was despatched to your US, the place he claimed it had been becoming sold to fund a smear marketing campaign towards the NLC.
He was repeating similar promises he had Formerly made in Parliament, which bundled advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was mindful not to call both.
“I arrived below In this particular August house very last yr and reported to honourable associates that details about our beneficiaries is stolen and set in a single state in America,” he instructed MPs.
“We named on the State Stability Agency to return consider the issue mainly because we have been getting experiences that our information is generating money for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There has been communicate, certainly from just one source, one media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but failed to notify MPs that the SSA investigation had been concluded Virtually a 12 months before.
Proactive funding was at the heart on the looting of the lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant process. The NLC could itself establish a challenge to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to oversee it.
Immediately after Nevhutanda first told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to research the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a press release expressing that his remarks reflected “an especially risky Mindset in which the media is getting blamed for your NLC’s inherent difficulties”.
“As an alternative to investigating why thousands and thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has in its place attempted to cast question to the integrity with the journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to research their resources.”
Proactive jobs produced mystery
Protection flaws determined during the NLC grant funding process in the SSA’s investigation, seem to have been made use of being an excuse via the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants procedure.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding jobs was heightened to ‘key’ and assignments had been removed from the grant funding system and managed manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information Workplace, Government Supervisor Lawful as a way to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
“There was many interior discussion, with a lot of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in the senior placement with the NLC at time, told GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive assignments in the process and limit usage of a handful of folks”.
Some in that handful of individuals were being implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned in the NLC many decades ago, is implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He gained R4.three-million from lottery cash allocated to construct a library and museum intricate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he utilised to create a residence in an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The residence is one of several paid out for with lottery funds which were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Device obtained a preservation get in December 2022.
The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups from the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their enjoy.
Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has given that died.
Each time a new administration, including the complete board and executive, took more than in the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” in the documentation concerning proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-dependent. Crucial files ended up missing. Documents held for safekeeping by doc storage firm Metrofile were signed out and never ever returned.
The NLC was in a position to Get well copies of some หวย หุ้น files from its Mimecast e-mail archiving method and the laptops in their assistants and assistance team.
News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave worry possible data stability breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts attained as a result of carrying out official functions inside the Commission by NLC staff. The pursuits are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission while disrupting the efficient capabilities [with the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational damage towards the Fee since the custodian of personal information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request with the SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is currently experiencing a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her check out.
The goal of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to file the occasions which transpired relating to facts safety breaches at the Nationwide Lotteries Fee”.
She shown numerous information reports which she claimed ended up the results of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this informative article).
Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its staff members, Sello Qhino, experienced “provided her classified NLC Details and persistently encouraged her to supply the knowledge to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman right after attempts to raise The difficulty internally were being overlooked, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an 18 November 2018 post in the Day by day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene stated which the NLC recognized and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker in the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the companion plus the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three little ones.
Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC investing R470,000 on lawyers to symbolize it, but was located not guilty and allowed to return to work.
“The common Think about these articles is that [they contain] labeled data associated with proactive funding tasks,” Nene said in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out with the household house to go ahead and take heat off her and his little ones. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an Business in an empty manufacturing facility belonging to a friend.
Equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method meant to recognise the damage some people suffered on the fingers with the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, economical payment are predicted.
“Some persons ended up definitely influenced quite negatively by this … This is absolutely unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Daily Maverick past yr.
“I met two or three these men and women. It was just so heart-wrenching that their whole lives have been turned the wrong way up,” reported Scholtz.
Amid Those people she met ended up Qhino and Makatse.
Safe platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA uncovered the absence at the time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn for the media.
“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will cause personnel presenting these scenarios beyond the NLC,” the SSA explained in its findings.
“Offered the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it remains crucial that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its concentration is on making certain that unlawful and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated towards and by making sure an satisfactory channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform with no being intimidated.”
It suggested which the NLC establish a “Harmless channel” for workers to offer information on any “untoward action” that will not stop or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, depending on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, can be a requirement.”
Media studies Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Health and fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner of the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The article experienced features of data not available in the public area, therefore increasing problem on internal Data safety breaches. The allegations while in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Even so, staff answerable for divulging categorised information and facts have yet to get identified”;
A 28 January 2018 short article printed via the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations from your Limpopo Mirror short article printed on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation relating to a previous staff through the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for that menace caused on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting within the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Regardless of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been completed. “The Lowvelder post contained categorised information and facts concerning NLC policy, boosting even more concerns of inside info safety breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts security hazards in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it absolutely was according to leaked NLC documents. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Access to Info) request for aspects in regards to the venture, she said