President Nana Akufo-Addo
The Association of Lotto Marketing Companies (ALMC) – backbone of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) – has petitioned President Akufo-Addo, Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Ministry of Finance, the Board Chairman and Director-General of the NLA, to assist its members with a package to acquire new solar-powered E-kiosks.
The NLA, in partnership with the private sector, is seeking to modernize the operations and management of the lottery industry through the replacement of wooden lotto kiosks and metal containers with modernized solar-powered E-kiosks.
The wooden lotto kiosks and metal containers are not business-friendly. Besides, they are unable to reduce lottery stigmatization, thereby reducing sales and revenue generation.
The solar-powered E-kiosks are equipped with facilities such as solar panels, V-Sat Internet-Connectivity, money safes, fan, Android Point of Sale Terminals (POSTs), etc.
In addition to the sales of lotto, the solar-powered E-kiosks would be used to provide value added services such as Mobile Money Interoperability transactions, banking, remittances and collection of taxes for the Ghana Revenue Authority, including payment of electricity and water tariffs.
The E-kiosk project is designed to create over 30,000 new jobs for the youth of this country. The project is also in consonance with government’s policy of digitalizing the economy.
The leadership of the association has received several petitions from its members over constant harassment and demolition of their wooden lotto kiosks and metal containers by the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
According to the ALMC, the MMDAs see the current lotto kiosks and metal containers being used by its members as unsightly, which undermines the beautification efforts of the assemblies.
In most cases, the Task Force of the assemblies is unleashed on the lotto kiosks and metal containers, causing massive destruction to them. Indeed, this trend has been disturbing the revenue generation efforts of NLA, which also affects government’s revenue in effect.
The NLA has been a self-financing government institution since its establishment, notwithstanding the statutory provision which gives it the mandate to fall on the Consolidated Fund whenever it faces any financial challenges in its operations.