Your appointees are destroying lotto business …GLOA calls on Akufo-Addo to intervene

By Justice Dzido On Apr 12, 2021

The Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA) has said the refusal of President Nana Akufo-Addo to intervene and stop some of his appointees serving in his administration from further influencing the works of National Lottery Authority (NLA) against private lotto operators would see to the collapse of the sector.

According to the Association, the collapse of the sector would see to about 2 million Ghanaians being unemployed with more burden being stressed on the already collapsing economy, therefore emergency and urgent steps must be adhered to in ways of saving and curing the unemployment rate from going high.

Speaking at a press conference, Dr Ato Conduah Esq. named Acting Director General of NLA Mr. Ernest Mote, the Public Relations Officer Razak Kojo Opoku among other appointees necessitating the collapse of their business.

“President Akufo-Addo has a fiduciary duty to save Ghanaian Lotto businesses, in his bid to protect the public purse. The President must immediately remove the Acting Director General-Ernest Mote for being a failure just after 3 weeks at post, and implement urgent measures to recover the GH¢20 Million Cedis owed to NLA by KGL to resuscitate NLA, and stop his appointees from interfering with the licenses of the private sector operators to risk huge judgment debts to the state. The President has a duty to prevent the unemployment of over 2 million families. The President is hereby advised not to rely on the advice of some of his close appointees who are behind KGL.

“The Akufo-Addo Government is being asked to immediately cause an investigation into KGL’s lotto activities, and also investigate the vile attempts carefully conceived and orchestrated to collapse NLA to allow KGL to takeover lottery in Ghana for its selfish interests, and create a new monopoly over online lottery in Ghana. GLOA will use its strength and resources to canvass the support of the Ghanaian Lotto public to resist the illegal schemes of appointees at the Presidency, and expose their shady deals.”

He added, “This NPP Government has been supported with lotto funds, and the President must discipline its appointees, in order to protect NLA and all lotto businesses, in protecting the public purse! From the foregoing, we serve two (2) weeks’ notice to the President, to resolve all the private sector lotto our issues, failing which we will advise ourselves and our supporters, to take the necessary action. We are voters who have the right to protect our livelihoods, and this right will be pursued no matter the consequences”.

Illegality

Dr Ato Conduah further described the activities of KGL Technology Limited as illegal and should not be entertained in any way to operate indicating that, “It must be noted, that KGL has no track-record of running any lottery operations anywhere in the world, but through greed, blackmail and chicanery by appointees at the Presidency, KGL has a license to operate online lotto on behalf of NLA, and touted as a partner to restructure the operations of NLA, when KGL is indeed indebted to NLA This transition from a licensed operator to a strategic partner reveals one the biggest conflict of interest cases in recent times. How can a licensed, but indebted operator of NLA, become a financier to bail-out NLA? The real truth about this farce is that, KGL still indebted to NLA in excess of GH¢20 Million Cedis for year 2020.”

“How can a debtor-licensee owing a State Authority such as NLA, neglect its debt and be pretending to be bailing-out NLA? This is a fluke orchestrated to fool Ghanaians and create the excuse to hand-over NLA to KGL. NLA’s financial challenges are a direct result of KGL using its online platform to sell NLA 5/90 numbers, to deny the NLA lotto marketing companies the needed revenue, which otherwise would have come from NLA kiosks manned by the Lotto Marketing Companies (LMCs). If KGL had paid its 2020 debt of GH¢20 Million Cedis to NLA, that would have helped NLA to pay outstanding winnings, and its numerous indebtedness to media companies in Ghana.”