THE ASHANTI Regional Lotto Receivers Association is angry at the decision of the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) to reduce the commission paid to lotto receivers from 25 percent to 20 percent, effective February 1, 2011.
The NLA and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning said the move formed part of measures aimed at raising enough revenue for development projects.
“We read with shock and disbelief the decision by the government to review downward the commission paid to lotto receivers by NLA,” the group said in a release.
The statement, signed by the regional chairman, Yaw Antwi, said the move was contrary to their expectation of an increase in the commission they earned since they played a significant role in generating revenue for national development.
The reason for the reduction, in their estimation, was untenable as it would affect their operations and the ability of NLA to raise funds.
The association explained that its members sourced for their own funds to buy the lotto booklets from the NLA, after which a commission was earned.
“All expenses that arise out of the operations of the receivers are met out of the 25 percent commission earned and with the rising cost of operations, the amount realized currently even amounts to peanuts,” the association stated.
They suggested that the commission should at least be maintained if government was not willing to increase it.
“We want government to note that generating more revenue for national development will not come from a reduction in the 25 percent commission but a well-thought-out measure to restructure the entire sector and implementing the right policies.”
They argued that the bane of the sector and its inability to generate enough revenue were as a result of the activities of private lotto operators whose receivers did not need start-up capital to acquire the lotto booklets and yet were paid 30 percent as commission.
“We wish to let government know that these private operators who can best be described as nation wreckers do not contribute anything to the state, as they do not pay any taxes and are more predisposed to defrauding the public, especially in situations where the winnings are more than they can pay,” the association observed.
According to the association, another critical factor that denied the DNLA enough revenue was the payment system that made people prefer illegal private lottery to the public one.
Payment for winners who stake through the manual process takes up to three months but those who stake via the automated system take up to three weeks.
The association wants the government to take critical steps to revitalize the system.
“We can assure the government that when the system is well structured, the sector can employ up to 50, 000 people to work as agents since the sector has the potential to generate enough employment opportunity for the teeming unemployed.
The group said that lotto receivers, their agents and the DNLA, from 2001 to 2008, generated 34 million Ghana cedis to the economy.
From Morgan Owusu, Kumasi