The process of finding a new national lottery operator is still under way, the Department of Trade and Industry said on Monday.
Departmental spokesperson Moosa Ebrahim said Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa will soon make an announcement on the new operator.
The department could not say when the announcement of a new operator will be made.
Its statement came a day after the Democratic Alliance (DA) accused the government of breaking its own deadline for resuming the Lotto.
DA spokesperson on trade and industry Pierre Rabie said on Sunday that Mpahlwa had promised, when suspending the Lotto, that it would be operational again within one month.
”Now, one month later, still no progress has been reported,” said Rabie. ”If Minister Mpahlwa has any intention of restoring the Lotto to credibility, he needs to step up to his responsibility and outline how and when the clear and swift recovery of the national lottery will be done.”
Mpahlwa suspended the Lotto on March 31, hours before the Uthingo licence to run it expired.
The suspension came after the Pretoria High Court reversed the awarding of the new lottery licence to the Gidani consortium on March 5, saying the process had been flawed. — Sapa