Private Lotto Operators to Go

Cabinet has approved a set of proposals to abolish private participation in lottery in the country, Mrs Grace Coleman, Deputy Minister of Finance said on Wednesday.

"The Department of National Lotteries (DNL) was drifting from a provider status to a dependent one so we had to salvage it from collapse."

Mrs Coleman said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency that the DNL would assume its former monopoly status since private participation did not prove helpful to the economy.

"From my own perspective, private lottery operators largely enriched themselves rather than creating wealth in the districts and even supporting sports development in the country."

Meanwhile, Mr Emmanuel Kermeh, Director General of DNL, has commended government for taking that position.

"The best deal the DNL could ever have is its monopoly status since it has the capacity and the good will to serve the public and government properly."

He said the Department plays a vital role in national development as every community in the country benefits economically from it.

Mr Kermah said: "In fact, we all felt the drop in revenue in DNL's kitty would reflect in the economy of district assemblies but that did not happen so where did the money go?"

He said the Department is undergoing restructuring to make its staff strength fewer and stronger.

"We have found out that certain staff members have Lotto officer numbers, which made them a referee and player in the game. We are withdrawing all those numbers and making it an offence for staff to apply for numbers."

Mr Kermeh said the Department would absorb "Banker to Banker" operators "so that we do not encourage them to go underground."

"We are aware of the confidence Ghanaians have in us. We shall spring back with vigour very soon. History will tell you that no winner has ever been denied his or her prize by the Department.