Former Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda requested the Point out Stability Company (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of files that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s business secretary at the time detailed media studies she explained have been based upon “stolen” facts in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did look into. It observed the information wasn't a issue of point out safety and which the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” with the media to expose it.
A new board and management has since taken in excess of the NLC and thus far have taken measures to end corruption for the establishment.
A Point out Security Agency (SSA) investigation identified the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “furnished sufficient motive” for exposure because of the media.

The probe into intended “facts protection 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 analyze.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by at the moment suspended NLC organization secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” conclusions and suggestions.
Nevhutanda questioned the SSA to research the role of NLC staff members within the alleged leaking of data, and Nene, in her affidavit identified distinct media and experiences that she claimed concerned these leaks.

From the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA informed the NLC that even though preserving state info was “a authorized critical targeted at shielding the sovereignty and integrity of your point out” this only placed on properly categorized info.

Even though it didn't say so immediately, the SSA findings implied which the allegedly leaked facts did not tumble into this group.

Substantially, the SSA produced it apparent that the need to secure condition information “isn't going to stop any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

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

“The leakage with the suitable sensitive official NLC information and facts into the media would not pose a menace to national stability,” the SSA explained, including the effects in the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no proof of a factual and incriminating mother nature versus any of the suspected NLC employees which could be identified from the knowledge and information interrogated”.

Furthermore, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities inside the NLC and at its beneficiaries does supply sufficient motive to own this kind of exposed within the media”.

Conspiracy claims
In 2020, Nevhutanda informed MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and competition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” in which details “stolen” through the NLC was sent to your US, wherever he claimed it absolutely was becoming sold to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating very similar statements he experienced Formerly built in Parliament, which integrated advert hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was careful not to name either.

“I came below Within this August property past calendar year and reported to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has actually been stolen and place in one state in America,” he told MPs.

“We called on the Point out Protection Agency to return check into the subject mainly because we're getting stories that our facts is creating funds for media platforms and journalists,” he mentioned. “There has been communicate, not surprisingly from a single resource, one particular media, that spoke Significantly about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not convey to MPs that the SSA investigation had been done Virtually a calendar year before.

Proactive funding was at the heart on the looting of your lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant method. The NLC could by itself establish a challenge to fund and appoint a non-profit organisation to oversee it.

Following Nevhutanda very first advised Parliament in 2018 that he had asked the SSA to analyze the intended breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement declaring that his remarks reflected “an incredibly risky Frame of mind in which the media is being blamed for that NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“Instead of investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute tried to cast doubt over the integrity from the journalists concerned and it has questioned the SSA to analyze their resources.”

Proactive projects produced mystery
Protection flaws determined during the NLC grant funding procedure during the SSA’s investigation, appear to happen to be utilized being an justification through the NLC to remove all proactive-funded projects from its central grants procedure.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding projects was heightened to ‘top secret’ and initiatives had been faraway from the grant funding program and managed manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Business office, Govt Manager Legal so that you can safeguard [the] info,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of internal discussion, with a great deal of backwards and forwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a supply, who was in a very senior posture at the NLC at some time, explained to GroundUp. “Eventually, the choice was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive tasks from your method and Restrict use of a handful of people today”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned from the NLC various several years back, has become implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery funds allocated to develop a library and museum complicated in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Tunes and Arts Expo) which he made use of to construct a household within an upmarket gated development in Pretoria. The property is one of numerous paid out for with lottery money that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to higher-ups within the ANC Management, previous 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 after 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 whole board and government, took about on the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” while in the documentation referring to proactive funding, Significantly of which was paper-centered. Key documents were lacking. Documents held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.

The NLC was ready to Get well copies of some หวย วัน นี้ documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving program plus the laptops of their assistants and assist staff.

News reports
In his one December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave problem attainable details safety breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential information and facts acquired on account of doing official functions within the Fee by NLC workforce. The pursuits are meant to undermine the integrity of your Fee whilst disrupting the productive capabilities [of your NLC] and creating insurmountable reputational damage on the Commission as the custodian of private data entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request for the SSA to analyze was supported in an affidavit by suspended NLC company secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is at this time going through a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to set aside findings of irregular expenditure on her check out.

The purpose of her affidavit, Nene explained, was “to history the functions which transpired concerning info safety breaches with the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She detailed a variety of news studies which she claimed have been the outcome of these “breaches” (see at the end of this post).

Nene explained that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its workers, Sello Qhino, experienced “presented her classified NLC Information and facts and persistently encouraged her to deliver the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a series of dodgy lottery-funded assignments in Kuruman following makes an attempt to lift the issue internally have been overlooked, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 post while in the Day by day Dispatch regarding the misappropriation of Lottery cash, Nene claimed which the NLC determined and then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an staff in the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the companion and the mom of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 kids.

Rungqu and Makatse believe Rungqu was punished because Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, Using the NLC expending R470,000 on attorneys to stand for it, but was located not responsible and allowed to return to work.

“The prevalent factor in these articles or blog posts is that [they entail] labeled information referring to proactive funding assignments,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of your family house to take the warmth off her and his little ones. Struggling with homelessness, he moved into an Business within an empty manufacturing unit belonging to a colleague.

Equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system intended to recognise the hurt a lot of people endured in the palms of the NLC. Apologies and, sometimes, monetary compensation are envisioned.

“Some people ended up really impacted very negatively by this … This is really distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day-to-day Maverick final year.

“I fulfilled a number of these people. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their total lives are actually turned upside down,” reported Scholtz.

Amongst Those people she met ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform essential for whistleblowers
The SSA found the absence at the 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 workforce presenting this kind of instances outside of the NLC,” the SSA said in its conclusions.

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it remains crucial that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts and that its aim is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular perform is adequately mitigated versus and by making certain an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without staying intimidated.”

It suggested the NLC build a “Protected channel” for workers to deliver info on any “untoward activity” that might not protect against or discourage employees from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, determined by the Secured Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is often a need.”

Media experiences Nene mentioned
A ten December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Health and fitness and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator with the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The post experienced aspects of information not out there in the public area, thereby increasing issue on inner Information safety breaches. The allegations during the media have been independently investigated,” Nene reported. “Nonetheless, workforce liable for divulging labeled information and facts have yet for being recognized”;
A 28 January 2018 report released via the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations within the Limpopo Mirror posting posted on ten December 2017 plus a new allegation associated with a former personnel with the name of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed for your danger brought about for the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 write-up within the Lowvelder with regard to the misappropriation of NLC money involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of getting R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been done. “The Lowvelder write-up contained labeled information and facts with regards to NLC coverage, elevating even further fears of interior information security breaches,” Nene said in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations did not warrant an independent Investigation, nevertheless [it] highlighted the heightened info security threats in the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Principal Care, a hijacked NPO. Nene claimed 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 particulars with regard to the undertaking, she claimed