Former Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Point out Safety Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to analyze the leaking of paperwork that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s firm secretary at time outlined media reviews she reported were according to “stolen” information and facts within an affidavit with the SSA.
The SSA did look into. It uncovered the data was not a make any difference of point out protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “ample motive” for that media to show it.
A brand new board and administration has considering that taken over the NLC and So far have taken steps to finish corruption for the institution.
A Point out Stability Company (SSA) investigation uncovered which the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “offered sufficient motive” for publicity through the media.

The probe into meant “details security 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 analyze.

Here is

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by presently suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the ask for, and
the security company’s “confidential” results and proposals.
Nevhutanda asked the SSA to analyze the part of NLC workers in the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit recognized distinct media and reviews that she claimed involved these leaks.

While in the letter outlining its results, the SSA told the NLC that though shielding state information and facts was “a legal vital geared toward guarding the sovereignty and integrity from the point out” this only placed on correctly categorised information and facts.

Although it didn't say so right, the SSA results implied that the allegedly leaked information did not drop into this classification.

Drastically, the SSA built it clear that the need to protect condition information and facts “won't prevent any personal from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or criminal activity”.

The SSA investigation uncovered the NLC data associated with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in nature, although not categorized regarding the prescripts with the Least Facts Protection Requirements (MISS)”.

“The leakage from the pertinent delicate Formal NLC info to your media would not pose a threat to countrywide protection,” the SSA claimed, adding which the impression with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report uncovered “no evidence of the factual and incriminating mother nature against any with the suspected NLC personnel that might be discovered from the knowledge and information interrogated”.

In addition it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does deliver ample motive to possess this sort of uncovered while in the media”.

Conspiracy promises
In 2020, Nevhutanda advised MPs through a session of Parliament’s trade, business and Competitors portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” through which info “stolen” through the NLC was despatched to your US, exactly where he claimed it had been being offered to fund a smear campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating identical promises he had Formerly created in Parliament, which provided advertisement hominem attacks on GroundUp which reporter but was very careful not to name either.

“I arrived below With this August property final calendar year and described to honourable members that information regarding our beneficiaries is stolen and place in a single state in America,” he advised MPs.

“We referred to as around the Point out Safety Agency to come back look into the subject mainly because we have been acquiring reviews that our data is creating revenue for media platforms and journalists,” he explained. “There was speak, obviously from a single supply, 1 media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda stated (referring to GroundUp), but failed to explain to MPs the SSA investigation were concluded Practically a yr previously.

Proactive funding was at the heart in the looting from the lottery. It side-stepped the normal grant method. The NLC could alone establish a challenge to fund and appoint a non-revenue organisation to supervise it.

After Nevhutanda initially advised Parliament in 2018 that he had requested the SSA to analyze the meant breach, the South African National Editors Discussion board issued a statement declaring that his remarks mirrored “a particularly unsafe Mind-set where by the media is being blamed for the NLC’s inherent problems”.

“As opposed to investigating why thousands and thousands cannot be accounted for, the NLC has in its place made an effort to cast question over the integrity of your journalists involved and has asked the SSA to analyze their sources.”

Proactive projects designed magic formula
Stability flaws identified from the NLC grant funding method during the SSA’s investigation, seem to are used being an justification through the NLC to get rid of all proactive-funded tasks from its central grants program.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all Professional-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘solution’ and assignments were removed from the grant funding system and managed manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Information and facts Business, Executive Manager Lawful as a way to safeguard [the] information and facts,” Nene explained in her affidavit.

“There was plenty of inside dialogue, with lots of forwards and backwards, about what to do to plug the alleged leaks”, a source, who was inside a senior situation at the NLC at time, explained to GroundUp. “Ultimately, the choice was taken to remove every one of the proactive projects from your technique and Restrict access to A few people”.

Some in that handful of individuals ended up implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC several many years ago, is implicated in corruption involving lottery money. He acquired R4.three-million from lottery resources allotted to develop a library and museum elaborate in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Music and Arts Expo) which he made use of to build a residence in an upmarket gated growth in Pretoria. The residence is one of a number of paid for with lottery funds that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-linked Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was close to large-ups while in the ANC leadership, previous NLC previous Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which confused the NLC on their check out.

Also implicated are former board members William Huma, who resigned right after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got considering that died.

Each time a new administration, including the full board and government, took above at the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found a “chaotic mess” during the documentation referring to proactive funding, Considerably of which was paper-dependent. Critical files ended up lacking. Information held for safekeeping by doc storage corporation Metrofile had been signed out and in no way returned.

The NLC was capable to Recuperate copies of some ตรวจ ล้อ ต เต อ รี่ documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving technique along with the laptops of their assistants and assistance employees.

News stories
In his 1 December 2018 letter, addressed to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has pointed out with grave worry doable facts safety breaches along with the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of confidential facts received because of undertaking Formal functions during the Fee by NLC staff. The actions are meant to undermine the integrity in the Commission while disrupting the successful features [of your NLC] and leading to insurmountable reputational damage into the Fee given that the custodian of private information entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

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

Nene is at the moment dealing with a disciplinary inquiry following she was unsuccessful in legal action to set aside results of irregular expenditure on her enjoy.

The goal of her affidavit, Nene stated, was “to record the gatherings which transpired referring to facts protection breaches on the National Lotteries Fee”.

She stated different news reports which she claimed have been the final results of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this post).

Nene reported that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its staff members, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to provide the knowledge to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle over a number of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman soon after makes an attempt to raise The difficulty internally had been dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an eighteen November 2018 short article inside the Day-to-day Dispatch with regards to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene reported that the NLC discovered then suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an employee from the NLC’s East London Workplace, who was the lover and also the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s three youngsters.

Rungqu and Makatse imagine Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and billed internally, While using the NLC expending R470,000 on legal professionals to depict it, but was observed not responsible and allowed to return to operate.

“The prevalent Consider these content is [they contain] labeled details referring to proactive funding initiatives,” Nene said in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out on the family property to go ahead and take warmth off her and his children. Going through homelessness, he moved into an Office environment within an vacant manufacturing facility belonging to a colleague.

Both equally Makatse and Qhino are taking part in an NLC reparation approach intended to recognise the hurt some people experienced for the fingers from the NLC. Apologies and, in some cases, economical payment are predicted.

“Some people today ended up genuinely impacted extremely negatively by this … This is de facto agonizing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz told the Daily Maverick past yr.

“I met a handful of these men and women. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their complete life have already been turned upside down,” claimed Scholtz.

Among People she met ended up Qhino and Makatse.

Safe platform required for whistleblowers
The SSA identified the absence at enough time of a suitable channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn to the media.

“Failure to possess a committed anti-corruption channel will cause workers presenting this sort of circumstances beyond the NLC,” the SSA claimed in its findings.

“Given the magnitude of corruption in condition establishments, it continues to be critical that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentration is on ensuring that illegal and irregular carry out is sufficiently mitigated towards and by guaranteeing an sufficient channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without getting intimidated.”

It proposed which the NLC create a “Harmless channel” for workers to offer information on any “untoward exercise” that may not prevent or discourage staff members from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers policy, depending on the Protected Disclosures Act twenty five of 2000, is really a need.”

Media reviews Nene mentioned
A 10 December 2017 report from the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Well being and Exercise Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has labored closely with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and owner of the Limpopo Mirror, to reveal NLC corruption. “The short article experienced factors of knowledge not offered in the public domain, therefore elevating problem on inner Details safety breaches. The allegations while in the media have been independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Even so, personnel to blame for divulging categorized information have still to become determined”;
A 28 January 2018 write-up released from the Dally Dispatch “citing various allegations from your Limpopo Mirror short article posted on ten December 2017 along with a new allegation associated with a previous personnel because of the title of Mzukisi Makatse. He was billed and summarily dismissed to the risk induced on the organisation.”
A 16 November 2018 article in the Lowvelder concerning the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has claimed how, Regardless of receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has not been finished. “The Lowvelder article contained labeled information concerning NLC policy, increasing additional problems of internal facts stability breaches,” Nene stated in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence regarding these allegations did not warrant an impartial Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened info security dangers inside the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose about a dodgy R27.five-million grant to Denzhe Primary Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene reported GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it absolutely was based upon leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Advertising of Use of Details) request for aspects with regard to the job, she mentioned