Government should investigate operations of National Lotteries

Kumasi, Feb. 8, GNA - The National Lotto Receivers Union has called on the Government to set up a committee to investigate the operations of the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) and the Department of National Lotteries (DNL).

Mr Dominic Asamoah, an advisor to the Union in Kumasi, said the investigation would unveil the modus operandi of the NLA and the DNL to avert any lapses in revenue generation.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi, he said there was the need for Government to evaluate the work of the Management of the DNL and assess the functions of the automated machines used by lotto receivers and the continued existence of banker-to-banker operators in the country.

He said the authorities should either enforce the ban on banker-to-banker and private lotto operations or streamline the business to ensure sanity and the raising of revenue for development projects.

Mr Asamoah observed that there are people who do not pay taxes to the Government but use the six draws of the week by the DNL to facilitate their private operations.

He noted that there is inadequate advertisement on the promotion of NLA to encourage people to patronise lotto staking.

Mr Asamoah said in the Ashanti Region, only about 300 out of the 2,200 lotto receivers use automated machines, which helped in reducing paper work, eliminate fraud and enable winners to receive quick payments.

He called on the Government to continue to encourage the establishment of lotto unions in the districts to offer employment to the youth. GNA