Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the Condition Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at the time listed media reviews she mentioned had been based upon “stolen” facts in an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It located the information wasn't a issue of state protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” with the media to reveal it.
A new board and management has because taken about the NLC and thus far have taken actions to end corruption for the establishment.
A State Safety Agency (SSA) investigation found which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered enough motive” for publicity via the media.
The probe into intended “info stability breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote into the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at this time suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to research the function of NLC team from the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized precise media and studies that she claimed included these leaks.
In the letter outlining its results, the SSA advised the NLC that even though preserving state facts was “a authorized crucial targeted at guarding the sovereignty and integrity on the point out” this only placed on correctly categorized information and facts.
Even though it didn't say so straight, the SSA results implied which the allegedly leaked information did not drop into this group.
Considerably, the SSA created it crystal clear that the necessity to guard condition details “doesn't reduce any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation observed that the NLC facts involved in the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, although not categorised with regard to the prescripts of the Bare minimum Facts Stability Standards (Skip)”.
“The leakage in the appropriate sensitive official NLC info towards the media doesn't pose a threat to countrywide protection,” the SSA explained, including which the impression on the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report discovered “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature towards any of the suspected NLC staff members that might be discovered from the information and facts interrogated”.
Furthermore, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply sufficient motive to obtain this sort of exposed from the media”.
Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, market and Levels of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein information and facts “stolen” within the NLC was despatched for the US, exactly where he claimed it absolutely was staying offered to fund a smear marketing campaign from the NLC.
He was repeating equivalent claims he had Beforehand manufactured in Parliament, which integrated advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call either.
“I came in this article On this August dwelling last yr and described to honourable users that information about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one condition in the united states,” he advised MPs.
“We named to the Condition Safety Agency to return take a look at the make any difference for the reason that we have been acquiring reviews that our information is making funds for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There have been discuss, of course from just one source, just one media, that spoke A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but failed to inform MPs the SSA investigation were done Nearly a yr previously.
Proactive funding was at the center on the looting with the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could itself detect a challenge to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to supervise it.
Following Nevhutanda to start with instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced requested the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African Countrywide Editors Forum issued an announcement indicating that his remarks reflected “an especially hazardous Perspective where the media is being blamed with the NLC’s inherent complications”.
“Rather than investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has rather made an effort to Solid doubt about the integrity of the journalists involved and it has asked the SSA to research their sources.”
Proactive projects made top secret
Protection flaws identified from the NLC grant funding process in the SSA’s investigation, look to have already been made use of as an justification by the NLC to remove all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants system.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and initiatives have been faraway from the grant funding process and taken care of manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Office environment, Govt Supervisor Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] info,” Nene stated in her affidavit.
“There was plenty of internal dialogue, with many forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was in a senior posture with the NLC at the time, explained to GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to get rid of all of the proactive initiatives from your procedure and limit use of A few individuals”.
Some in that handful of men and women were implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC various years ago, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He gained R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to develop a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he applied to develop a household in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The property is among many paid for with lottery resources that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation buy in December 2022.
The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed as being the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to high-ups from the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated while in the corruption which confused the NLC on their own view.
Also implicated are former board customers William Huma, who resigned just after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced 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 above on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation referring to proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based. Vital paperwork were lacking. Files held for safekeeping by doc storage business Metrofile were signed out and in no way returned.
The NLC was able to Recuperate copies of some ตรวจ หวย ลาว วัน นี้ documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving procedure plus the laptops of their assistants and aid personnel.
News stories
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave worry possible data stability breaches as well as the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information and facts obtained because of doing Formal features from the Fee by NLC workforce. The activities are intended to undermine the integrity on the Fee although disrupting the effective features [with the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational damage into the Fee because the custodian of non-public facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for for the SSA to investigate was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC business secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present going through a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.
The objective of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to document the events which transpired concerning facts safety breaches at the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.
She stated numerous information reports which she claimed ended up the outcomes of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).
Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “offered her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to deliver the data to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman just after tries to boost The problem internally had been ignored, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article from the Day-to-day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene said the NLC identified after which you can suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker in the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the spouse as well as mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 small children.
Rungqu and Makatse think Rungqu was punished mainly because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Using the NLC shelling out R470,000 on attorneys to characterize it, but was uncovered not responsible and permitted to return to work.
“The widespread Consider these articles or blog posts is that [they contain] classified info referring to proactive funding jobs,” Nene stated in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the spouse and children home to take the warmth off her and his small children. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a buddy.
Equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation process meant to recognise the damage a lot of people suffered on the hands on the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, financial compensation are predicted.
“Some people have been genuinely afflicted really negatively by this … This is admittedly painful,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Everyday Maverick very last calendar year.
“I achieved a few these folks. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their complete lives have already been turned the wrong way up,” explained Scholtz.
Amid Individuals she satisfied were Qhino and Makatse.
Safe System necessary for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at some time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.
“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to workforce presenting these kinds of cases outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its conclusions.
“Offered the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it continues to be crucial that it ensures that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentration is on making sure that unlawful and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated from and by guaranteeing an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without the need of being intimidated.”
It advised the NLC build a “safe channel” for workers to supply info on any “untoward exercise” that will not avoid or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, depending on the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a need.”
Media stories Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report in the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator from the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The article experienced things of data not accessible in the public domain, therefore elevating worry on inside Information and facts security breaches. The allegations while in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene claimed. “On the other hand, staff members chargeable for divulging labeled data have but to be determined”;
A 28 January 2018 report published because of the Dally Dispatch “citing numerous allegations from your Limpopo Mirror short article posted on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation associated with a former worker with the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the danger prompted to the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting during the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, Regardless of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been finished. “The Lowvelder posting contained labeled details in terms of NLC coverage, boosting even more concerns of internal data stability breaches,” Nene said in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened facts protection challenges throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp had verified in its story that it was based on leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Details) request for aspects with regards to the undertaking, she said