Previous Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the State Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time outlined media studies she claimed were being depending on “stolen” data in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It found the data was not a issue of state protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “enough motive” with the media to reveal it.
A brand new board and administration has because taken more than the NLC and thus far have taken actions to end corruption at the establishment.
A Condition Security Company (SSA) investigation located the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered ample motive” for exposure via the media.

The probe into meant “information stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was carried out immediately after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to your SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by currently suspended NLC company secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “private” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the purpose of NLC personnel within the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit discovered certain media and experiences that she claimed involved these leaks.

From the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA informed the NLC that even though protecting state data was “a authorized vital directed at protecting the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only placed on correctly labeled data.

Although it did not say so instantly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked info didn't drop into this category.

Noticeably, the SSA designed it obvious that the necessity to guard state facts “will not prevent any specific from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminality”.

The SSA investigation identified the NLC information associated with the alleged breach was “sensitive and privileged in character, but not labeled in terms of the prescripts from the Minimal Data Protection Criteria (Miss out on)”.

“The leakage with the applicable delicate official NLC info to the media does not pose a menace to nationwide stability,” the SSA claimed, including which the affect from the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature in opposition to any of the suspected NLC staff members that may be determined from the data and information interrogated”.

What's more, it mentioned that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities within the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply sufficient motive to own these types of uncovered during the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda explained to MPs during a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which information “stolen” within the NLC was despatched for the US, exactly where he claimed it absolutely was getting sold to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating related promises he had Earlier made in Parliament, which provided advert hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was watchful not to call possibly.

“I arrived here In this particular August household last year and documented to honourable associates that information regarding our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and place in one state in America,” he told MPs.

“We called over the Condition Safety Company to come back explore the make a difference because we've been acquiring reports that our facts is producing revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There have been discuss, of course from one particular resource, 1 media, that spoke Substantially about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda said (referring to GroundUp), but failed to inform MPs which the SSA investigation had been completed almost a calendar year previously.

Proactive funding was at the center of your looting from the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant process. The NLC could by itself identify a venture to fund and appoint a non-income organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda initial instructed Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to analyze the supposed breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Forum issued a statement expressing that his remarks reflected “an especially hazardous Perspective wherever the media is getting blamed to the NLC’s inherent problems”.

“Rather than investigating why hundreds of thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has alternatively tried to Solid question within the integrity of your journalists involved and has requested the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive tasks created mystery
Stability flaws identified inside the NLC grant funding program in the course of the SSA’s investigation, show up to are applied as an justification with the NLC to remove all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants method.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding tasks was heightened to ‘magic formula’ and projects were removed from the grant funding procedure and taken care of manually underneath the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Info Business, Executive Manager Legal so as to safeguard [the] information,” Nene mentioned in her affidavit.

“There was a great deal of inside dialogue, with many forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was within a senior place with the NLC at time, informed GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to get rid of each of the proactive tasks within the system and limit entry to A few people today”.

Some in that handful of men and women were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC a number of decades ago, has long been implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He been given R4.3-million from lottery money allotted to build a library and museum advanced in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he utilised to make a household in an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The house is among a number of paid for with lottery money which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Device received a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to substantial-ups from the ANC Management, former NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main working officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which confused the NLC on their enjoy.

Also implicated are former board associates William Huma, who resigned following he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who may have considering that died.

Any time a new administration, such as the complete board and govt, took around at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they identified a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation regarding proactive funding, A lot of which was paper-based. Important files ended up missing. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and by no means returned.

The NLC was able to Get well copies of some หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 files from its Mimecast e mail archiving technique along with the laptops of their assistants and guidance personnel.

News studies
In his one December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has noted with grave problem possible data security breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private info acquired due to accomplishing Formal functions within the Commission by NLC staff. The functions are meant to undermine the integrity with the Fee even though disrupting the powerful features [in the NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational harm to the Fee since 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 organization secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at this time facing a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in legal action to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene claimed, was “to report the functions which transpired associated with details security breaches within the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She mentioned a variety of news studies which she claimed were the effects of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this informative article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one among its employees, Sello Qhino, had “presented her categorised NLC Info and persistently encouraged her to supply the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a series of dodgy lottery-funded initiatives in Kuruman immediately after tries to boost The problem internally have been dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 post inside the Each day Dispatch about the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene claimed that the NLC recognized and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an worker during the NLC’s East London Business office, who was the husband or wife plus the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 children.

Rungqu and Makatse believe that Rungqu was punished simply because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, with the NLC investing R470,000 on legal professionals to stand for it, but was located not guilty and allowed to return to operate.

“The common Consider these content articles is [they involve] categorised data relating to proactive funding assignments,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the relatives household to go ahead and take heat off her and his youngsters. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Business within an empty manufacturing unit belonging to an acquaintance.

Both of those Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the damage many people experienced within the palms from the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, economic payment are expected.

“Some people today had been really influenced pretty negatively by this … This is absolutely distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Everyday Maverick previous 12 months.

“I fulfilled a handful of these people today. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives have been turned the other way up,” reported Scholtz.

Between People she satisfied were Qhino and Makatse.

Harmless platform needed for whistleblowers
The SSA observed the absence at time of an appropriate channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to your media.

“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will bring about staff presenting such situations beyond the NLC,” the SSA said in its findings.

“Provided the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it stays very important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all stability prescripts Which its aim is on making sure that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated against and by ensuring an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward perform devoid of currently being intimidated.”

It advised that the NLC create a “Protected channel” for workers to supply info on any “untoward action” that may not avert or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, according to the Secured Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a prerequisite.”

Media experiences Nene outlined
A 10 December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and Physical fitness Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner from the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The article experienced features of data not readily available in the public domain, therefore elevating concern on interior Facts safety breaches. The allegations within the media were being independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Nevertheless, workforce to blame for divulging classified data have yet to get discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 post revealed via the Dally Dispatch “citing many allegations through the Limpopo Mirror short article posted on ten December 2017 and a new allegation relating to a previous staff via the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for your threat caused to the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 report inside the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC funds involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder post contained labeled info concerning NLC policy, elevating even further issues of inner information and facts stability breaches,” Nene reported in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof regarding these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened facts protection hazards within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Most important Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene stated GroundUp experienced confirmed in its story that it absolutely was based upon leaked NLC documents. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Access to Facts) ask for for specifics about the task, she reported