POLL | Should the national lottery be run by government?

Newly appointed national lottery operator Sizekhaya Holdings is set to be the last private company to run the multibillion-rand national lottery as South Africa is preparing itself for it to be run by the government.

The national lottery is considered the country's biggest tender as it's estimated to make R180bn over an eight-year period.

Provisions of the Lotteries Amendment Act of 2013 empower the state to be able to run the national lottery.

National Lotteries Commission (NLC) commissioner Jodi Scholtz said the provision for a state-run lottery was to prevent a lottery blackout like the one in 2007 by the then losing bidder Uthingo.

“We can confirm that the inclusion of the provision for a state-run national lottery in the 2013 amendment was in part a response to the disruption experienced in 2007, when the country found itself without an active lottery operator for several months due to delays in the licensing process,” Scholtz said.

However, she said a state-run lottery would require significant institutional planning and operational readiness, budget allocation and Treasury approval.

The national lottery has been embroiled in several controversies including corruption, mismanagement and licensing disputes such as the delays and court battles to award Sizekhaya Holdings the licence.

On Wednesday, Sowetan reported the Special Investigating Unit secured an order to freeze a multimillion property in Midstream, registered under Southern African Youth Movement director Alfred Muzwakhe Sigudhla, which was allegedly bought with some of the R36m lottery grants meant for community projects.

Last week, the Sunday Times reported Sizekhaya board chairperson Moses Tembe was open to handing over the intellectual property of its lottery system design and innovation to the government to help create capacity for a state-run lottery.

“The government will own the lottery, and it may choose to say: Sizekhaya or Genlot help us manage it to ensure that the technology works, because government is not in that business ... but as a property it will not be our property,” Tembe said.