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News today on the delay of the announcement of the successful bidder to run the Lotto is yet another example of governance issues plaguing entities reporting to the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition.

The Democratic Alliance, in the 6th Parliament, led a campaign to uncover a litany of malfeasance and corruption at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). This led to the resignation of Chief Operations Officer Mr Philemon Letwaba and the freezing of his pension in September 2022. Just one month earlier, NLC Commissioner Thabang Charlotte Mampane, resigned under a cloud of suspicion related to her purchase of a house for R3,6 million, thus avoiding a disciplinary enquiry.

Reports today refer to a "tangled web of conflict of interest, corruption and cronyism" unfolding at the NLC, "implicating high-profile figures with ties to the department of trade, industry and competition and some bidding companies in the R180 billion lottery tender licence."

These high-profile figures and bidding companies include Johnny Copelyn, CEO of Hosken Consolidated Investments, Sandile Zungu, head of the Gold Rush Consortium, Thebe Investments and the Umbulalelo Consortium, all of which have strong ties to the ANC. A cloud is also hanging over a senior Gauteng Gambling Board control manager, Thiran Marinathu, who was appointed to the NLC bid adjudication committee in January this year, for his alleged close connections to Mr Zungu.

Now, we have learned of legal action initiated by United Civil Society in Action (UCSA) to force Minister Parks Tau to institute an investigation into the current and interim NLC board "and the suspension of all decision-making powers pending the outcome of such an investigation."

UCSA’s litigation follows a letter of complaint by NLC staff on a leadership crisis “plunging it into chaos”.

Last week, Minister Tau issued a statement promising the restoration of proper governance in his department and reporting entities. The Minister's response to this latest action by UCSA and staff pleas will show whether he is serious in his commitment to root out poor governance, malfeasance and corruption in the entities under his watch.

We have written to Minister Tau previously to raise concerns on malfeasance at the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). We continue to await his response.

As we have articulated repeatedly in Parliament, we want to work with Minister Tau. He needs to meet us halfway in ensuring success at DTIC and our wider economy.

In the absence of timely and satisfactory replies from Minister Tau, the DA will, in Committee, confront him with pointed questions and urge him to provide clear, honest answers. We will continue to raise and seek answers on these critical matters until we see meaningful progress and accountability.

Issued by Toby Chance MP - DA Spokesperson for Trade, Industry and Competition