Former Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Condition Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time outlined media experiences she stated ended up based upon “stolen” info in an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It uncovered the data was not a make a difference of point out protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for that media to expose it.
A fresh board and administration has considering the fact that taken in excess of the NLC and So far have taken steps to end corruption with the establishment.
A State Protection Company (SSA) investigation located which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered sufficient motive” for publicity via the media.
The probe into meant “info security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken following then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote towards the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to investigate.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC business secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “confidential” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the job of NLC staff members while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered distinct media and reports that she claimed included these leaks.
Within the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA told the NLC that when preserving state info was “a authorized vital geared toward preserving the sovereignty and integrity in the state” this only applied to appropriately classified details.
Although it didn't say so instantly, the SSA findings implied the allegedly leaked information didn't tumble into this class.
Drastically, the SSA produced it clear that the necessity to shield state info “won't avoid any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.
The SSA investigation found the NLC info linked to the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, although not classified when it comes to the prescripts with the Least Information Stability Standards (Skip)”.
“The leakage from the suitable sensitive official NLC data towards the media isn't going to pose a menace to nationwide protection,” the SSA stated, adding which the impact of your breaches was reputational.
The SSA report uncovered “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature versus any with the suspected NLC employees that would be determined from the information and info interrogated”.
It also mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply enough motive to get these kinds of exposed from the media”.
Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs for the duration of a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” wherein information “stolen” in the NLC was despatched for the US, the place he claimed it was remaining marketed to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.
He was repeating very similar claims he had Formerly manufactured in Parliament, which involved advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was thorough not to call both.
“I arrived right here Within this August residence final year and documented to honourable customers that specifics of our beneficiaries continues to be stolen and put in one point out in the usa,” he explained to MPs.
“We known as around the Point out Protection Agency to come look into the make any difference for the reason that we have been obtaining experiences that our facts is producing revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There has been chat, obviously from a person source, a single media, that spoke A great deal about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but did not explain to MPs which the SSA investigation were done almost a year earlier.
Proactive funding was at the heart of the looting of the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant system. The NLC could by itself establish a job to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to oversee it.
After Nevhutanda to start with instructed Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to investigate the intended breach, the South African National Editors Forum issued a press release declaring that his remarks mirrored “an especially perilous Perspective where the media is getting blamed with the NLC’s inherent issues”.
“In lieu of investigating why millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as an alternative attempted to cast doubt around the integrity in the journalists concerned and has questioned the SSA to analyze their sources.”
Proactive tasks produced magic formula
Security flaws discovered in the NLC grant funding procedure in the course of the SSA’s investigation, seem to are already applied being an excuse via the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants procedure.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding assignments was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and tasks ended up faraway from the grant funding technique and maintained manually beneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Details Business, Govt Supervisor Legal in order to safeguard [the] data,” Nene said in her affidavit.
“There was loads of internal discussion, with plenty of backwards and forwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was within a senior place for the NLC at the time, advised GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to get rid of the many proactive initiatives with the process and limit usage of a handful of people today”.
Some in that handful of individuals ended up implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC various many years in the past, has been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery cash allotted to build a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he employed to construct a residence in an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The assets is one of a number of compensated for with lottery cash which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation order in December 2022.
The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to significant-ups within the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which overwhelmed the NLC on their look at.
Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with evidence of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has considering that died.
Every time a new administration, such as the total board and government, took in excess of with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they uncovered a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation associated with proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-dependent. Key documents have been missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and hardly ever returned.
The NLC was in the position to recover copies of some ltpbet documents from its Mimecast electronic mail archiving technique along with the laptops of their assistants and guidance staff.
News reports
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave concern feasible info security breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information and facts received due to executing official features inside the Fee by NLC staff members. The routines are meant to undermine the integrity in the Fee even though disrupting the effective features [of your NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Commission given that the custodian of personal details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for for that SSA to analyze was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC business secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present experiencing a disciplinary inquiry immediately after she was unsuccessful in lawful motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her view.
The purpose of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to history the situations which transpired concerning facts safety breaches in the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.
She mentioned a variety of news stories which she claimed had been the effects of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this informative article).
Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its workforce, Sello Qhino, had “offered her labeled NLC Information and facts and persistently encouraged her to provide the information to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle on the series of dodgy lottery-funded tasks in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to raise the issue internally were ignored, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 posting from the Each day Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene stated which the NLC determined after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff while in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the husband or wife along with the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three young children.
Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished due to the fact Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, with the NLC shelling out R470,000 on attorneys to stand for it, but was found not guilty and permitted to return to operate.
“The popular Think about these articles is the fact that [they involve] classified information concerning proactive funding initiatives,” Nene explained in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family members home to go ahead and take warmth off her and his little ones. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an office in an vacant factory belonging to a buddy.
Both Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation course of action meant to recognise the harm a number of people experienced at the hands in the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, money payment are predicted.
“Some persons ended up seriously influenced quite negatively by this … This is de facto unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz informed the Every day Maverick past 12 months.
“I satisfied two or three these persons. It was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their entire life happen to be turned the wrong way up,” stated Scholtz.
Between These she fulfilled were being Qhino and Makatse.
Protected System desired for whistleblowers
The SSA discovered the absence at time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show into the media.
“Failure to possess a focused anti-corruption channel will result in workers presenting this kind of circumstances outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its findings.
“Given the magnitude of corruption in point out establishments, it remains essential that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts and that its aim is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated from and by making certain an suitable channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without becoming intimidated.”
It suggested that the NLC set up a “Safe and sound channel” for employees to provide info on any “untoward activity” that may not protect against or discourage personnel from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, dependant on the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a prerequisite.”
Media reports Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator in the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The short article experienced elements of data not offered in the public domain, thereby increasing concern on inner Information and facts stability breaches. The allegations in the media were being independently investigated,” Nene said. “Nonetheless, staff accountable for divulging categorised details have yet to get identified”;
A 28 January 2018 report posted through the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations in the Limpopo Mirror report released on ten December 2017 and a new allegation referring to a former employee through the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the danger brought about into the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report while in the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder posting contained categorized information with regard to NLC policy, elevating further considerations of inside information safety breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened details safety hazards inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Key Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it absolutely was dependant on leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Details) ask for for facts with regard to the job, she mentioned