NLA appeals to lotto receivers to end strike

Accra, July 10, GNA - The National Lottery Authority (NLA) has appealed to the National Lottery Receivers Union (NLRU) and the Lotto Marketing Companies (LMC) to call off their indefinite nationwide strike action.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra at the weekend, the NLA Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Reagan Twum Barimah, described the NLRU and LMCs as important stakeholders in the lottery business and said they could still work while negotiating with the Authority to find an amicable solution to the impasse between the two bodies.

He said, 93We are all in this business to make money", adding that earning 20 per cent commission instead of 25 per cent commission was far better than nothing.

Mr. Twum Barimah noted that even though the NLA would lose some revenue, the NLRU and LMCs would be the ultimate losers by withdrawing their services from the NLA and the public.

He said the NLA had been implementing the decision to pay 20 per cent commission to the NLRU and LMCs for the past three months without complaints and urged them to call off their strike action.

The NLA PRO stated that the NLRU and LMC had not formally informed the Authority of their action.

Giving a genesis of the impasse, Mr Twum Barimah said following the supply of Lotto automation machines to members of the NLRU and LMCs, which reduced their overhead cost of operation, the NLA decided to pay them 20per cent commission instead of 25 per cent commission.

He said the NLRU and the LMCs protested against the reduction in their commission and petitioned the government, who appointed a mediator.

Mr. Twum Barimah said the NLRU and LMC did not give chance for mediation and decided to go to court and lost.

He said that the strike would not affect the operations of the NLA since there were other retailers ready to step into their shoes to sell products of the Authority to the public, and stated that offices of NLA would be opened at all times for normal business transactions to the public.

The PRO also urged LMCs and retailers of the Authority's products to visit its partner banks namely the National Investment Bank, UBA Bank, Zenith Bank, Agriculture Development Bank, Ghana Commercial Bank and Barclays Bank branches nationwide to purchase credits for their Lotto Machines.

Mr. Twum Barimah called on Lotto winners on the Authority's automation machines to redeem their prizes from its partner banks.

He said that the daily draws would come on at the usual venue and time and urged the public to buy tickets and coupons from licensed LCMs only to avoid arrest and prosecution.

Mr Twum Barimah said a taskforce was currently going round the country to arrest illegal lotto operators popularly known as 93Banker to banker"= for prosecution.

As at two o'clock on Friday afternoon, the NLA had racked in 80per cent of its daily revenue.