Former National Lotteries Fee (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Point out Protection Company (SSA) in December 2018 to research the leaking of documents that uncovered lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time outlined media stories she reported had been depending on “stolen” details within an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did investigate. It identified the information was not a make a difference of condition safety and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for that media to show it.
A fresh board and administration has due to the fact taken above the NLC and thus far have taken measures to end corruption within the institution.
A State Safety Agency (SSA) investigation observed which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “provided ample motive” for exposure from the media.

The probe into supposed “details safety breaches and sabotage of NLC operations” was carried out after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote to 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 request, and
the safety agency’s “private” findings and proposals.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the part of NLC staff from the alleged leaking of information, and Nene, in her affidavit determined particular media and stories that she claimed involved these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its conclusions, the SSA told the NLC that even though protecting state details was “a authorized vital directed at protecting the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only applied to correctly categorised facts.

Even though it did not say so straight, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked data did not slide into this class.

Substantially, the SSA made it apparent that the need to protect condition info “would not avert any individual from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located the NLC information involved in the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in character, although not classified in terms of the prescripts from the Least Details Safety Criteria (Skip)”.

“The leakage of your related delicate official NLC information and facts to your media won't pose a menace to nationwide protection,” the SSA mentioned, introducing the influence on the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report located “no evidence of the factual and incriminating character from any of your suspected NLC staff which could be recognized from the information and knowledge interrogated”.

In addition it stated that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does present sufficient motive to possess such exposed inside the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, marketplace and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” by which info “stolen” from the NLC was despatched for the US, exactly where he claimed it absolutely was getting bought to fund a smear campaign versus the NLC.

He was repeating related promises he had Earlier produced in Parliament, which involved ad hominem attacks on GroundUp and this reporter but was thorough not to call possibly.

“I came right here With this August house final yr and described to honourable customers that specifics of our beneficiaries has been stolen and set in a single condition in the united states,” he advised MPs.

“We referred to as within the State Stability Agency to come look into the make any difference for the reason that we've been finding 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 A lot about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but did not convey to MPs that the SSA investigation had been done Virtually a 12 months before.

Proactive funding was at the heart from the looting on the lottery. It facet-stepped the traditional grant procedure. The NLC could itself recognize a task to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to supervise it.

Just after Nevhutanda first told Parliament in 2018 that he experienced questioned the SSA to research the supposed breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued an announcement stating that his remarks mirrored “a very unsafe Perspective where the media is remaining blamed to the NLC’s inherent difficulties”.

“Instead of investigating why tens of millions cannot be accounted for, the NLC has as a substitute made an effort to cast doubt to the integrity of the journalists concerned and has requested the SSA to research their resources.”

Proactive jobs produced key
Protection flaws determined from the NLC grant funding process during the SSA’s investigation, appear to happen to be utilized being an excuse 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 method and managed manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Business office, Govt Manager Authorized so that you can safeguard [the] details,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inner discussion, with a great deal of forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside of a senior posture at the NLC at the time, told GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to get rid of every one of the proactive assignments from your method and Restrict entry to a handful of people today”.

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

Maselwa, who resigned with the NLC various several years back, is implicated in corruption involving lottery funds. He been given R4.3-million from lottery cash allotted to make a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Songs and Arts Expo) which he utilised to create a household within an upmarket gated progress in Pretoria. The property is among numerous paid out for with lottery resources which were frozen following the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed because the NLC board chairperson by former President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near substantial-ups inside the ANC Management, former NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-Main running officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated inside the corruption which confused the NLC on their own look at.

Also implicated are former board members William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with evidence of how he experienced profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, that has because died.

Any time a new administration, including the full board and executive, took about with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they discovered a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation associated with proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-based mostly. Important files ended up missing. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage enterprise Metrofile had been signed out and never returned.

The NLC was in the position to recover copies of some ตรวจ หวย รัฐบาล documents from its Mimecast email archiving system as well as laptops of their assistants and support team.

News experiences
In his 1 December 2018 letter, resolved to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has mentioned with grave worry feasible facts security breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information acquired because of undertaking Formal capabilities in the Fee by NLC workers. The routines are intended to undermine the integrity from the Commission while disrupting the efficient capabilities [of your NLC] and producing insurmountable reputational damage on the Commission given that the custodian of non-public details entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His ask for to 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 after she was unsuccessful in authorized motion to put aside conclusions of irregular expenditure on her observe.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene said, was “to document the gatherings which transpired relating to info safety breaches with the Nationwide Lotteries Commission”.

She shown several information studies which she claimed have been the outcome of these “breaches” (see at the end of this short article).

Nene said that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that one of its employees, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorised NLC Data and persistently inspired her to supply the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle on the number of dodgy lottery-funded projects in Kuruman immediately after attempts to raise The problem internally were being ignored, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 short article in the Everyday Dispatch with regard to the misappropriation of Lottery funds, Nene said that the NLC identified after which suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee within the NLC’s East London Place of work, who was the spouse as well as the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s a few young children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished since Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, Together with the NLC paying R470,000 on legal professionals to symbolize it, but was found not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The typical Consider these articles is always that [they contain] classified details associated with proactive funding jobs,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out from the loved ones property to take the heat off her and his children. Facing homelessness, he moved into an Workplace within an empty factory belonging to an acquaintance.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation procedure meant to recognise the damage many people experienced with the hands on the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economical compensation are predicted.

“Some individuals have been really impacted incredibly negatively by this … This is actually unpleasant,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day by day Maverick last year.

“I satisfied a number of these men and women. It had been just so heart-wrenching that their entire lives happen to be turned upside down,” said Scholtz.

Among the Those people she fulfilled had been Qhino and Makatse.

Secure System essential for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at some time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to show on the media.

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

“Specified the magnitude of corruption in point out institutions, it remains vital that it makes sure that the NLC complies with all protection prescripts Which its concentration is on guaranteeing that unlawful and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated towards and by ensuring an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward conduct without being intimidated.”

It proposed the NLC set up a “safe channel” for workers to provide info on any “untoward activity” that may not avert or discourage workers from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers plan, depending on the Shielded Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, can be a need.”

Media reviews Nene stated
A ten December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellbeing and Conditioning Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and operator of the Limpopo Mirror, to show NLC corruption. “The article experienced features of data not out there in the general public domain, thus boosting problem on internal Information stability breaches. The allegations while in the media had been independently investigated,” Nene said. “Having said that, personnel liable for divulging categorised details have nonetheless to get discovered”;
A 28 January 2018 post released by the Dally Dispatch “citing several allegations with the Limpopo Mirror article printed on 10 December 2017 plus a new allegation regarding a former worker with the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the danger prompted into the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 write-up within the Lowvelder regarding the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has described how, in spite of acquiring R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been done. “The Lowvelder write-up contained categorised details when it comes to NLC coverage, boosting additional problems of interior info safety breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie proof with regards to these allegations didn't warrant an unbiased Investigation, however [it] highlighted the heightened info security dangers within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Most important Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene explained GroundUp had verified in its story that it was based on leaked NLC files. This was despite the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Info) ask for for specifics concerning the project, she explained