Osei Ameyaw and theTazanian officials in a group photograph
A high-powered delegation from the republic of Tanzanian has visited the National Lottery Authority (NLA) to study its transformational agenda of becoming a vibrant state lottery institution.
The leader of the delegation, Amon A. Mpanju, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Constitutional Affairs, said the visit formed part of their government’s efforts at transforming and strengthening the lottery business and operations in Tanzania.
The Deputy Permanent Secretary, while paying glowing tribute to the NLA for a number of ongoing reforms which continue to impact positively on its activities, expressed hope that the visit would go a long way to serve as a conduit linking the two nations and enriching their capacities.
He further indicated that the government of Tanzania was ready to collaborate with the NLA to introduce same models to improve national revenue base.
Welcoming the delegation to the country and to the offices of the NLA, the Director General of the NLA, Osei Ameyaw, traced the history of the establishment of the institution.
He indicated that the NLA since its establishment has operated as a self-financing business model which pays revenue into the central government consolidated fund.
“I am happy to report that although the authority has gone through challenging times, especially with regard to the activities of illegal lotto operators, today we have found a solution to this canker through the introduction of carefully planned innovative and programmatic measures to curb their activities,” he pointed out.
The Director General, while paying glowing tribute to the President for his passionate role to assist the NLA deal with various revenue leakages, further stated that today a number of the activities of the illegal lotto operators have come to a halt while most of them have gone through validation and registration.
Besides, most of them have been granted licenses to operate as recognized bodies under the supervision of the NLA.
He also mentioned collaborations with the Veterans Association of Ghana (VAG) through the Ministry of Defence who have been their compatriots working to streamline various lottery activities.
The Director General further indicated that at present the NLA has put measures in place to introduce E-Kiosks which is a multipurpose project to provide a wide range of services including banking, courier, remittances and payments for utilities.
He also indicated that it is intended to help flush out the activities of illegal lotto operators and create opportunities for prompt payments of winnings.
By Solomon Ofori