Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has admitted to Parliament that the distribution of funds from the national lottery ”remains a matter of concern as it has not been optimal”.
As a result, his department is to increase its oversight of the lotteries board in order to improve performance in distributing funds and the performance of lottery board members themselves.
Giving a written reply to a question from Kobus Marais of the Democratic Alliance on Wednesday, the minister said: ”The department has not at this point considered taking any specific action against any board member or member of staff. However, the department has introduced measures to address inefficiencies relating to the distribution of funds.” He added that the department will overhaul the administrative system to improve efficiencies in the distribution process.
He pointed out that a new board is due to be appointed soon, and that when it is, he will take advantage of a clause in the legislation to put a senior member of the department on the board ”to provide strategic direction required at board level”.
He has also promised a review of the legislation to deal with some of the challenges the board faces. — I-Net Bridge