Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda asked the State Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s company secretary at some time shown media stories she explained ended up depending on “stolen” data within an affidavit to the SSA.
The SSA did examine. It discovered the data was not a subject of point out protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” for the media to show it.
A fresh board and administration has since taken over the NLC and To this point have taken steps to end corruption in the establishment.
A Point out Stability Agency (SSA) investigation found the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “delivered enough motive” for exposure because of the media.

The probe into supposed “data protection 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 investigate.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the role of NLC workers while in the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized particular media and stories that she claimed included these leaks.

From the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA informed the NLC that although guarding point out info was “a legal very important geared toward protecting the sovereignty and integrity of your state” this only applied to correctly labeled information and facts.

Even though it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked information didn't tumble into this category.

Noticeably, the SSA produced it apparent that the need to secure state information and facts “isn't going to stop any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation observed which the NLC info associated with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, but not categorised with regard to the prescripts of your Minimum Information Security Standards (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage of the relevant delicate Formal NLC data to your media doesn't pose a risk to national safety,” the SSA said, introducing the effect of your breaches was reputational.

The SSA report identified “no proof of the factual and incriminating character in opposition to any on the suspected NLC staff members that can be identified from the data and knowledge interrogated”.

What's more, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does give sufficient motive to get this kind of uncovered during the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs throughout a session of Parliament’s trade, field and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which data “stolen” in the NLC was sent into the US, exactly where he claimed it had been staying marketed to fund a smear campaign towards the NLC.

He was repeating related promises he had previously designed in Parliament, which involved advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was watchful not to call both.

“I arrived in this article in this August dwelling very last year and documented to honourable users that specifics of our beneficiaries is stolen and set in one condition in the united states,” he told MPs.

“We called on the Point out Stability Company to come back look into the subject due to the fact we've been acquiring experiences that our details is building revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There has been speak, certainly from a single resource, 1 media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but didn't tell MPs which the SSA investigation had been concluded Virtually a 12 months previously.

Proactive funding was at the center with the looting with the lottery. It side-stepped the traditional grant approach. The NLC could itself discover a challenge to fund and appoint a non-earnings organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda first explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a press release indicating that his remarks reflected “a particularly harmful Frame of mind wherever the media is staying blamed to the NLC’s inherent complications”.

“Instead of investigating why tens of millions can't be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively attempted to cast question around the integrity of the journalists included and has questioned the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive projects produced magic formula
Security flaws determined inside the NLC grant funding procedure throughout the SSA’s investigation, show up to are applied as an excuse via the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘key’ and initiatives had been removed from the grant funding technique and taken care of manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Business office, Government Supervisor Legal in an effort to safeguard [the] information,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

“There was many inside dialogue, with plenty of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was within a senior situation for the NLC at some time, explained to GroundUp. “In the long run, the choice was taken to eliminate all the proactive tasks from your method and limit access to A few persons”.

Some in that handful of men and women have been implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned from your NLC numerous a long time back, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery resources. He obtained R4.three-million from lottery money allotted to develop a library and museum sophisticated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural New music and Arts Expo) which he employed to develop a home in an upmarket gated improvement in Pretoria. The assets is among several compensated for with lottery resources that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit received a preservation buy in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed as the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near high-ups within the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which confused the NLC on their view.

Also implicated are previous board customers William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who has given that died.

Every time a new administration, including the full board and government, took more than at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” during the documentation referring to proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-dependent. Key documents ended up lacking. Files held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and by no means returned.

The NLC was capable of Recuperate copies of some หวย ลาว ล่าสุด files from its Mimecast e-mail archiving technique as well as laptops in their assistants and support staff.

Information reviews
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave worry attainable info protection breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts acquired on account of executing official features during the Commission by NLC staff. The functions are meant to undermine the integrity of your Fee though disrupting the efficient functions [of the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational harm to the Fee because the custodian of non-public information entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for for that SSA to research was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC business secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at present experiencing a disciplinary inquiry just after she was unsuccessful in lawful action to put aside findings of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to history the activities which transpired concerning data security breaches within the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She shown various news experiences which she claimed have been the outcomes of those “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this article).

Nene stated that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that amongst its workforce, Sello Qhino, experienced “delivered her categorised NLC Information and facts and persistently inspired her to offer the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman immediately after tries to lift The problem internally ended up dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article from the Everyday Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene stated the NLC recognized and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel within the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the husband or wife along with the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three young children.

Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Along with the NLC expending R470,000 on lawyers to depict it, but was observed not responsible and permitted to return to work.

“The common Consider these article content is the fact that [they include] categorised data associated with proactive funding projects,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out in the family members dwelling to take the warmth off her and his children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Workplace in an empty factory belonging to a pal.

Both of those Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation system meant to recognise the damage some people experienced for the fingers in the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economical payment are anticipated.

“Some people were being actually afflicted really negatively by this … This is actually agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Day by day Maverick previous 12 months.

“I satisfied a handful of these individuals. It was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives are already turned the other way up,” reported Scholtz.

Among those she met had been Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at enough time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn into the media.

“Failure to have a focused anti-corruption channel will cause employees presenting these situations beyond the NLC,” the SSA reported in its findings.

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it stays very important that it ensures that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its target is on making sure that illegal and irregular perform is sufficiently mitigated against and by making certain an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without currently being intimidated.”

It proposed which the NLC create a “Safe and sound channel” for workers to supply information on any “untoward activity” that will not avoid or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, based upon the Guarded Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is often a necessity.”

Media reports Nene mentioned
A ten December 2017 report inside the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor with the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The write-up had things of data not obtainable in the general public area, thereby elevating worry on interior Details safety breaches. The allegations inside the media had been independently investigated,” Nene mentioned. “However, employees liable for divulging classified information have yet being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 article posted through the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from your Limpopo Mirror article posted on 10 December 2017 and also a new allegation relating to a former worker via the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your risk induced to your organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting in the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been completed. “The Lowvelder posting contained categorized info when it comes to NLC coverage, boosting even more issues of inside information and facts security breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an independent Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened data security hazards in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Principal Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene said GroundUp had verified in its Tale that it had been determined by leaked NLC paperwork. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Usage of Information) ask for for information with regard to the job, she claimed