The Lotto Agents and Writers Union of Ghana (LAWU) has petitioned the Ministry of Finance to allow its members to participate in the operations of the Department of National Lotteries (DNL).

This, it said, would not only generate employment for many more Ghanaians but would also earn government increased revenue to fund more development projects. "We want the government to know that the Banker to Banker has attracted a lot of patronage from the general public and it should be accorded total recognition and its operations controlled," said the petition signed by Ransford Boama Boakye, Chairman of the LAWU, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

It noted that, with the huge patronage of the DNL, the lotto industry grew to such an extent that it could not fulfil stakers' demands, leading to a shortage of lotto books and underhand deals by the DNL Receivers Union (DNL-RU).

This, the LAWU noted, led to the era of supply of books by private individuals (Banker to Banker Operators) who used the DNL winning numbers to pay their winners without paying tax.

The situation brought about a misunderstanding between the Banker-to-Banker operators and the DNL until the government legalised the operations of the former under PNDC Law 223.

The Union observed that the operations of the DNL had suffered some setbacks in recent times due to the mode of payment, supply of books, disposal of stocks and the implications of the monopoly enjoyed by the DNL-RU.

The LAWU alleged that the practice of the DNL-RU is, however, more of a liability now to the DNL as its members seems to have taken total control of the lotto industry. It alleged that instead of admitting new members to assist in their operations, members of the RU have rather increased their stock which they in turn reallocate to the so-called Banker to Banker operators at the rate of 10 to eight per cent while they collect their stocks at the rate of 25 per cent from the DNL."

The petition said the DNL-RU, by and large, mislead officials of the DNL and use the police to harass and arrest members of the LAWU who refuse to kowtow to the corrupt practice of the receivers.

It alleged that most of the receivers do not have kiosks in which they operate their business and rather resort to the service of agents and writers. The LAWU said again that the procedures for payment at the DNL is frustrating to most stackers, adding that members of the DNL-RU have constituted themselves into buyers of winnings tickets and operate within the precincts of the DNL offices.

It alleged that while the government pays 213,000 cedis for a 1,000 cedis winning coupon, these buyers deceive winners into selling the coupons for 200,000 cedis or 180,000 cedis.

"Sometimes, they would send your winning ticket for checking within the building and come back with some flimsy excuses, thereby asking the winner to go and come back after two weeks to collect their wins.''

"All these frustrations drive stakers away from buying the DNL coupons," it stated, and appealed to the DNL authorities to drive away these buyers. The LAWU said the popularity of the Banker to Banker makes it incumbent on the authorities to take a serious look at the issue once again, adding that the DNL and the Agents and Writers can co-exist, cooperate and in the process increase the profits of the DNL and ultimately the revenue collected by government."

"In this era of privatisation, it is our prayer that the lotto industry is also opened up so that the industry can benefit from the concept of private participation." "We want to state it clear that with our workforce on the ground, we can pay five times the tax that the Receivers Union are crying over," it said.

The LAWU, therefore, appealed to government to accord Banker-to-Banker and private lottery operators total recognition, saying the Internal Revenue Service and the VAT Secretariat can check the system.

"We therefore again appeal to the Director of National Lotteries to invite the leaders of our Union to explain further why we should be allowed to participate in its operations.

"We are very much worried as a lot of money that could have been used for development goes to the drain," it added. Alex Baafour-Gyimah, Games Commissioner and former Acting Director of the DNL, however, told the GNA that private operators had abused the chance given them by PNDCL 223 that legalised their operations.

"There is no way private lotto agents and writers can be allowed into the operations of the DNL," he said, adding that their way of operation is not regulated. Baafour-Gyimah said the DNL could, however, give members of the LAWU the chance to become agents of the DNL.

He said the LAWU have their own skilled employees who can be employed by the DNL to operate under its umbrella, adding: "We even need more people because we are going to reach out to the nook and cranny of the country to engage more agents for the DNL."

Asked how soon this could be done, Baafour-Gyimah said this would be latest by 31 March this year, after the requisite Act had been passed by Parliament. Reacting to the allegations of delayed payments for winners,

Baafour-Gyimah agreed that the DNL could not pay as fast as the Banker-to-Banker operators because it had to go through the necessary processes of drawing up payment vouchers to be audited before it could effect payment.

He said, however, that when he assumed office, he introduced the necessary measures, including coming to work even on Sundays to sign cheques, to ensure that winners are paid the following Monday.

"We are doing our best under the circumstances. If the private lotto writers were not around, there would not be too much pressure on the DNL," he said. Baafour-Gyimah agreed with the LAWU that individuals who buy winning coupons at a discount were creating problems for the DNL but said he had given instructions that these people should not operate within the precincts of the DNL.

Asked how best the DNL could maximise its revenue, Mr Baafour-Gyimah said: "The lotto business is making business everywhere except in Ghana. The DNL should be well resourced and made autonomous to enable it to operate more efficiently."

When the GNA called at the offices of the Minister of Finance, neither he nor any of his two deputies was available for their comments. However, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, in his 2003 budget statement to Parliament last Thursday, said the problems associated with lotteries in Ghana had rendered the industry unproductive.

Consequently, he said, it was being proposed to repeal PNDCL 223 with a view to outlawing the activities of private lotteries. He said government was aware of the number of people employed by private lotto operators and wished to assure the public that the restructured and well-resourced DNL would be able to absorb lotto agents employed by private lotto operators.

"Already numerous applications have been submitted by agents of the private operators because of the impending abolition of the law," he stated. Kwaw Ansah, ex-employee of the DNL, told the GNA that strict security checks were necessary to prevent deals among some employees that had led to the dwindling fortunes of the DNL.

"Government should employ qualified, patriotic, dedicated and trusted Ghanaians to oversee the operations of the DNL to prevent corrupt deals, particularly among staff of the DNL in the security section and the machine room to save the lotto industry from eminent collapse," he added.