Previous Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Stability Company (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of paperwork that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at the time shown media reviews she claimed were based on “stolen” details in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did examine. It observed the information was not a issue of condition protection and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” with the media to reveal it.
A brand new board and administration has given that taken more than the NLC and Up to now have taken measures to finish corruption in the establishment.
A Point out Safety Company (SSA) investigation located the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided ample motive” for exposure through the media.
The probe into meant “details security breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out soon after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC firm secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the security company’s “private” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to research the part of NLC team while in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered certain media and reports that she claimed concerned these leaks.
While in the letter outlining its results, the SSA advised the NLC that although guarding state data was “a authorized vital aimed at protecting the sovereignty and integrity of your condition” this only applied to properly classified data.
Although it didn't say so immediately, the SSA findings implied that the allegedly leaked information didn't drop into this category.
Considerably, the SSA produced it very clear that the necessity to guard state information and facts “isn't going to stop any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.
The SSA investigation discovered the NLC info involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, although not classified in terms of the prescripts on the Minimum amount Data Stability Standards (Overlook)”.
“The leakage with the applicable delicate Formal NLC facts to the media doesn't pose a threat to national stability,” the SSA reported, introducing the effect from the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report found “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature from any in the suspected NLC employees which could be recognized from the information and facts interrogated”.
It also mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present ample motive to acquire this sort of exposed from the media”.
Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda told MPs in the course of a session of Parliament’s trade, sector and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which info “stolen” from your NLC was sent to your US, where he claimed it was becoming marketed to fund a smear campaign towards the NLC.
He was repeating very similar statements he had Beforehand designed in Parliament, which involved ad hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was watchful not to name both.
“I arrived listed here in this August home final 12 months and documented to honourable associates that specifics of our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and place in a single point out in America,” he advised MPs.
“We called about the Condition Stability Company to return explore the subject simply because we're acquiring stories that our information is producing funds for media platforms and journalists,” he claimed. “There have been speak, naturally from just one supply, one particular media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda claimed (referring to GroundUp), but failed to convey to MPs the SSA investigation were accomplished Nearly a 12 months before.
Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting of your lottery. It side-stepped the conventional grant approach. The NLC could by itself detect a project to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.
Right after Nevhutanda first informed Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to research the meant breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a press release indicating that his remarks reflected “a particularly dangerous attitude in which the media is remaining blamed for the NLC’s inherent problems”.
“As opposed to investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute made an effort to Solid question to the integrity from the journalists concerned and has requested the SSA to analyze their resources.”
Proactive assignments produced top secret
Security flaws discovered while in the NLC grant funding system in the course of the SSA’s investigation, appear to are utilised as an justification through the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded jobs from its central grants process.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘mystery’ and jobs were faraway from the grant funding procedure and maintained manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Workplace, Executive Supervisor Legal so that you can safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene said in her affidavit.
“There was loads of interior dialogue, with plenty of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was in a senior posture on the NLC at the time, advised GroundUp. “Eventually, the decision was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive initiatives from the technique and limit usage of a handful of individuals”.
Some in that handful of individuals have been implicated in corruption.
Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC various many years back, has actually been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.three-million from lottery money allocated to make a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to construct a property within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The home is among numerous compensated for with lottery resources that were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation buy in December 2022.
The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near higher-ups from the ANC Management, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which overcome the NLC on their own look at.
Also implicated are previous board users William Huma, who resigned soon after he was confronted with proof of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has considering that died.
Any time a new administration, including the total board and govt, took over with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” in the documentation referring to proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-based mostly. Crucial documents were lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage firm Metrofile had been signed out and hardly ever returned.
The NLC was capable to recover copies of some หวย วัน นี้ files from its Mimecast e-mail archiving program along with the laptops of their assistants and support staff members.
News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, dealt with to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave issue attainable information safety breaches as well as unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential data attained because of doing Formal capabilities in the Fee by NLC workers. The pursuits are intended to undermine the integrity in the Commission although disrupting the successful functions [from the NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational hurt into the Fee because the custodian of personal information and facts entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His ask for for the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC enterprise secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at the moment facing a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in legal action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her view.
The objective of her affidavit, Nene reported, was “to document the gatherings which transpired relating to details protection breaches for the Countrywide Lotteries Fee”.
She listed numerous news reviews which she claimed have been the final results of such “breaches” (see at the end of this post).
Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its staff members, Sello Qhino, had “provided her labeled NLC Details and persistently inspired her to supply the data to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman soon after tries to raise the issue internally ended up disregarded, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an 18 November 2018 post while in the Day by day Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene explained the NLC determined and afterwards suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel while in the NLC’s East London Office environment, who was the lover as well as mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three kids.
Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, With all the NLC spending R470,000 on attorneys to signify it, but was observed not guilty and allowed to return to operate.
“The typical Consider these articles is always that [they contain] classified data concerning proactive funding projects,” Nene stated in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the relatives dwelling to go ahead and take warmth off her and his young children. Dealing with homelessness, he moved into an office in an empty factory belonging to an acquaintance.
Equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation process meant to recognise the harm lots of people endured at the palms in the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, fiscal compensation are predicted.
“Some people today were being genuinely afflicted really negatively by this … This is actually unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz explained to the Everyday Maverick very last year.
“I met several these individuals. It was just so heart-wrenching that their whole life have been turned upside down,” reported Scholtz.
Among the Those people she fulfilled have been Qhino and Makatse.
Risk-free System wanted for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show for the media.
“Failure to have a committed anti-corruption channel will lead to personnel presenting these kinds of circumstances outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its results.
“Offered the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it remains very important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its target is on making sure that unlawful and irregular perform is adequately mitigated in opposition to and by guaranteeing an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct with no being intimidated.”
It advisable the NLC create a “safe channel” for workers to offer information on any “untoward exercise” that might not avoid or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, according to the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is actually a need.”
Media reviews Nene shown
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner in the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The short article experienced things of data not out there in the general public domain, thereby boosting worry on inner Details safety breaches. The allegations while in the media had been independently investigated,” Nene said. “However, workforce chargeable for divulging categorized information have but to get determined”;
A 28 January 2018 posting published by the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations in the Limpopo Mirror post printed on ten December 2017 in addition to a new allegation concerning a former employee via the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for that risk caused to your organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 posting inside the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, Regardless of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been accomplished. “The Lowvelder short article contained categorised info regarding NLC plan, boosting further more issues of internal details safety breaches,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations didn't warrant an impartial Investigation, even so [it] highlighted the heightened details security risks throughout the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Key Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp had verified in its story that it had been according to leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Marketing of Usage of Details) ask for for details in regards to the project, she mentioned