KwaZulu-Natal businessman and chairman of Sizekhaya Holdings, Moses Tembe has promised a “bigger and better” lottery after the consortium was named as the operator of the National Lottery for the next eight years.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau announced on Wednesday that Sizekhaya Holdings, a consortium partly owned by gambling company Goldrush, would be the operator.
The announcement came after Gauteng High Court Judge Sulet Potterill ordered Tau to announce the bidder by May 28 and declared the decision to issue a temporary licence unconstitutional. However, to prevent lottery ticket sales from halting, Judge Potterill suspended the order for five months, allowing a temporary licence to be awarded for that period.
Sizekhaya is led by Tembe and Sandile Zungu, the owner of AmaZulu Football Club.
Speaking to The Mercury, Tembe said the lottery under Sizekhaya would be “bigger, better and exciting”.
“As chairman of Sizekhaya, I can confirm that we will use this opportunity to generate jobs and stimulate the economy. We’re bringing in best in class technology never seen in our country.”
Tembe is a prominent businessman and is co-chairperson of the KZN Growth Coalition. A website detailing the top KZN business people notes that he founded Bellamont Investments and the Bellamont Group of Companies.
He also worked as chief credit controller in the 90s for the development corporation which developed townships, convenience centres and industrial estates, has developed and run various businesses, was elected Nafcoc secretary general between 1990 and 1994 and then president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce.
Zungu is described on the Amazulu Football Club’s website, as an entrepreneur at heart who thrives on the chase of new investments. In 2002, Zungu Investments Company (Zico) was established. Zico is a diversified industrial holdings organisation with interests that include education, manufacturing, property, sport, forensics, gaming, and resources.
Making the announcement on the court-ordered date, Tau said that he had intended to announce the successful bidder on the same date, provided that licence agreement negotiations were successfully concluded.
However, Tau further stated that he will seek legal advice to appeal the Pretoria High Court’s findings and orders that forced his hand to make this announcement.
The National Lottery is currently operated by Ithuba Holdings, whose licence expires on May 31. Due to delays in announcing the successful bidder, a temporary licence awarded to Ithuba Lottery, a sister company of Ithuba Holdings, will take effect on June 1. Thereafter, Sizekhaya is expected to assume operations for eight years.
Tau has not clarified the lingering uncertainty regarding when Sizekhaya’s licence will commence, with expectations that Ithuba Holdings will operate for an additional five months until the new operator takes over.
The announcement comes as the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) launched an urgent application to amend a Johannesburg High Court order limiting the temporary licence to five months. The NLC argues that unless the order is revised to allow the temporary licence to remain valid for a full year, lottery sales will cease on Sunday, 1 June, as it would not be financially viable for Ithuba Lottery to continue.
DA MP and spokesperson on Trade, Industry and Competition Toby Chance said the delays in announcing the preferred bidder had threatened the Lotto’s entire operations.
“The announcement of Sizekhaya Holdings as the new operator of the National Lottery is long overdue, as Minister Tau waited until the 11th hour. This announcement follows a protracted process involving significant ANC connections and court litigation over the time allotted to the temporary licence operator, who must take over on 1 June while Sizekhaya gets its systems ready.”
THE MERCURY
