Previous Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the State Stability Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at the time stated media studies she said have been according to “stolen” facts within an affidavit for the SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It located the knowledge was not a subject of condition protection and the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to expose it.
A fresh board and management has because taken more than the NLC and So far have taken steps to end corruption in the establishment.
A State Stability Agency (SSA) investigation found the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “supplied sufficient motive” for publicity with the media.
The probe into meant “details stability breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was undertaken just after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote for the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.
Here's
Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to research the position of NLC staff within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized unique media and studies that she claimed involved these leaks.
While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA explained to the NLC that although protecting point out info was “a authorized very important directed at safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity in the point out” this only placed on properly categorized data.
Even though it didn't say so straight, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked information and facts did not fall into this classification.
Substantially, the SSA made it very clear that the need to safeguard state data “doesn't reduce any unique from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.
The SSA investigation discovered the NLC facts linked to the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in mother nature, although not categorized concerning the prescripts of the Minimum amount Facts Safety Requirements (Pass up)”.
“The leakage on the pertinent delicate Formal NLC data to the media won't pose a danger to national safety,” the SSA claimed, introducing which the impact from the breaches was reputational.
The SSA report identified “no evidence of a factual and incriminating mother nature versus any of your suspected NLC employees that may be identified from the data and facts interrogated”.
In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver sufficient motive to have these types of exposed during the media”.
Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Level of competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which information and facts “stolen” in the NLC was sent on the US, where by he claimed it absolutely was becoming sold to fund a smear campaign against the NLC.
He was repeating equivalent claims he experienced Beforehand designed in Parliament, which bundled advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to name either.
“I arrived listed here On this August house past yr and reported to honourable customers that details about our beneficiaries has long been stolen and place in a single point out in America,” he instructed MPs.
“We known as to the Point out Security Agency to come back check into the matter since we're receiving stories that our information and facts is generating money for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There has been talk, obviously from 1 resource, a person media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda explained (referring to GroundUp), but failed to convey to MPs the SSA investigation were accomplished almost a 12 months earlier.
Proactive funding was at the center of the looting on the lottery. It facet-stepped the normal grant course of action. The NLC could itself recognize a challenge to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to oversee it.
Immediately after Nevhutanda first informed Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to investigate the supposed breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement indicating that his remarks reflected “an incredibly hazardous Angle exactly where the media is remaining blamed with the NLC’s inherent troubles”.
“As opposed to investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute tried to Solid doubt over the integrity of the journalists involved and has requested the SSA to investigate their resources.”
Proactive projects built solution
Safety flaws determined within the NLC grant funding process through the SSA’s investigation, show up to have been made use of as an excuse via the NLC to remove all proactive-funded initiatives from its central grants process.
“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘top secret’ and tasks have been faraway from the grant funding method and preserved manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Office environment, Govt Supervisor Legal so as to safeguard [the] information,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.
“There was many interior dialogue, with plenty of back and forth, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was in a very senior placement within the NLC at time, explained to GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to eliminate all of the proactive tasks from your technique 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 a number of years in the past, is implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He gained R4.3-million from lottery cash allotted to create a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he made use of to create a household within an upmarket gated advancement in Pretoria. The residence is among several paid for with lottery money that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation order 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 to significant-ups from the ANC leadership, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief operating officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated in the corruption which confused the NLC on their view.
Also implicated are previous board associates William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have considering the fact that died.
Each time a new administration, such as the complete board and govt, took more than for the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation relating to proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-dependent. Vital files were lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by doc storage enterprise Metrofile were signed out and hardly ever returned.
The NLC was ready to Get better copies of some ตรวจ สลาก documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving technique plus the laptops in their assistants and guidance team.
Information stories
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave concern achievable data protection breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information received because of accomplishing official capabilities inside the Fee by NLC workers. The things to do are intended to undermine the integrity on the Fee whilst disrupting the productive capabilities [from the NLC] and resulting in insurmountable reputational hurt to the Commission because the custodian of non-public data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”
His request to the SSA to research was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.
Nene is at present going through a disciplinary inquiry soon after she was unsuccessful in legal motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her check out.
The objective of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to record the situations which transpired regarding details stability breaches on the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.
She shown numerous news stories which she claimed were the final results of such “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).
Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that certainly one of its staff, Sello Qhino, had “presented her labeled NLC Facts and persistently encouraged her to supply the information to GroundUp”.
Qhino, who blew the whistle on a number of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to lift The problem internally have been ignored, was subsequently fired.
Referring to an eighteen November 2018 post in the Day by day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene reported that the NLC determined and after that suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel in the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the husband or wife and also the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 little ones.
Rungqu and Makatse consider Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC paying R470,000 on lawyers to signify it, but was discovered not responsible and permitted to return to work.
“The common Think about these articles or blog posts is always that [they include] categorised data referring to proactive funding projects,” Nene explained in her affidavit.
When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the spouse and children household to go ahead and take heat off her and his little ones. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Business in an vacant factory belonging to an acquaintance.
Both equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation method meant to recognise the harm some individuals endured in the fingers with the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, money payment are predicted.
“Some people today were being definitely influenced quite negatively by this … This is de facto unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Daily Maverick very last yr.
“I achieved several these people. It absolutely was just so coronary heart-wrenching that their complete life are already turned upside down,” reported Scholtz.
Amongst All those she achieved had been Qhino and Makatse.
Safe and sound System needed for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at some time of a correct channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn on the media.
“Failure to possess a committed anti-corruption channel will bring about employees presenting these kinds of situations outside of the NLC,” the SSA stated in its conclusions.
“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it continues to be critical that it ensures that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts and that its emphasis is on making certain that unlawful and irregular conduct is sufficiently mitigated versus and by making sure an ample channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without having becoming intimidated.”
It recommended that the NLC build a “Secure channel” for employees to offer info on any “untoward action” that may not stop or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, according to the Safeguarded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, can be a prerequisite.”
Media stories Nene shown
A 10 December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored carefully with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner of your Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The post experienced elements of information not out there in the public domain, therefore boosting concern on inner Information and facts security breaches. The allegations while in the media ended up independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Nevertheless, staff to blame for divulging labeled facts have still to get recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 post published via the Dally Dispatch “citing a lot of allegations through the Limpopo Mirror post posted on 10 December 2017 in addition to a new allegation associated with a previous employee with the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed to the danger brought on on the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 posting inside the Lowvelder about the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has noted how, in spite of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been completed. “The Lowvelder article contained categorised information in terms of NLC plan, increasing more issues of interior facts safety breaches,” Nene said in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regard to these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, nonetheless [it] highlighted the heightened information protection threats inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a couple of dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp experienced verified in its Tale that it absolutely was based on leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Access to Details) request for specifics with regards to the challenge, she reported
https://javorka.online
https://ufabetsea.online
https://ufabetwine.online
https://ufabetsc.online
https://ufabethunter.online
https://ufawinbet.site
https://sagaming99.site
https://sagaming93.online
https://sagaming92.online
https://sagaming91.online
https://sagaming90.online
https://javbom.online
https://javcanna.online
https://javmini.online
https://javoops.online
https://javhubs.online
https://javep.online
https://javzooms.online
https://javporns.online
https://javbros.online
https://sagamings.online
https://huaylnw.shop
https://huayka.shop
https://huaynaja.shop
https://huay1.site
https://huay2.site
https://huay3.site
https://huay4.site
https://huay5.site
https://huay6.site
https://edeltanet.com