The Concerned Lotto Agents Association of Ghana has kicked against the new annual registration fees being initiated by the National Lottery Authority.
The Association sees the new fees which ranges between Gh¢100,000 and Ghc1 Million as draconian and is appealing to President Nana Akufo-Addo to intervene.
Published below is the statement from the group
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, we have called on you today to officially inform you about the second petition that we have sent to the President of the Republic, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo about an amendment of National Lottery Act 722, 2006.
We the Concerned Lotto Association of Ghana (CLAAG) would want to express our displeasure and disapproval of the demands of the NLA in respect of the private participation in the Lotto business.
Whilst we commend the government and the NLA for seeing the need to opening up for private participation in the Lotto business, we are however appalled by the obnoxious and outrageous demand of One Million Ghana Cedis for registration as a private lotto operator and another Five Million Cedis insurance guarantee for operators who want to operate nationwide.
Again the demands of NLA that lotto agents should make a down payment of five thousand cedis as insurance guarantee is absurd and unreasonable and needs to be further looked at.
It is submitted with respect that the demands of the NLA is insensitive and seeks to put the government in a bad light and portray the ruling government as being insensitive to the plight of the numerous unskilled unemployed youth who could otherwise benefit from the private participation of the Lotto business.
The ruling government promised massively to create jobs in the 2016 electioneering campaign and the outrageous demands by the NLA defeats the government’s own promise to create jobs for the people.
We want to reiterate our position that the concerned lotto agents association of Ghana had made suggestions as to how they are going to raise revenue for the Central government as contained in our earlier petition to the president of the republic and state unequivocally that we aren’t against the regularization of the industry but are against the excruciating one million non-refundable licensing fee for an operator.
We see all that as an attempt to denigrate and undermine the attempt to rake into the lotto business by private participation.
The Association believes the NLA is against private business due to reasons best known to themselves but they have cunningly accepted to allow private participation and want to kick against the policy by trying to implement draconian rules, regulations and outrageous monetary demands.
We are hoping that the President would act on this matter and treat it as urgent as it deserve.
This should be done without delay in the interest of the government and the people in this country.
