Wednesday, 28 May 2025.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns the corrupt conduct of Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, in awarding the Sizekhaya Holdings, whose main shareholder is Goldrush Consortium, the licence to operate South Africa’s National Lottery. This appointment, made despite explicit warnings of conflicts of interest, political exposure, and backdoor dealings, confirms that Minister Tau is not fit to safeguard one of the country’s most important public institutions.

The EFF previously appealed directly to Minister Tau and raised concerns to the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry in Parliament through formal correspondence, warning against awarding the lottery licence to Goldrush. It had been revealed that members of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) bid committee had ties to Goldrush, including personal attendance at its events and directorships in entities that house Goldrush gambling machines.

Furthermore, Goldrush owner, Sandile Zungu has openly engaged in political contests within the ANC and maintains close ties with former President Jacob Zuma, leader of the MK Party; while another owner Moses Tembe, is also a close ally of the ANC. We highlighted in our correspondence with Minister Tau and the Portfolio Committee that this amounted to a breach of the National Lotteries Act Section 13(2)(b)(iv) which explicitly prohibits the awarding of a licence to any entity with direct political affiliations.

Additionally, the EFF highlighted that the Goldrush Group has publicly admitted to being in the process of expanding its operations, indicating that it does not currently have the full technical and operational capacity to run the National Lottery. This directly contravenes Section 13(2)(b)(i) of the Act, which requires bidders to have sufficient capacity to operate the Lottery effectively

Minister Tau’s refusal to listen, refusal to appear before Parliament, and decision to proceed with this appointment anyway represents a complete betrayal of his constitutional responsibilities. Instead of ensuring fairness, transparency, and compliance with the Lotteries Act, he has compromised a public asset, by awarding a contract worth over R180 billion over the next eight years to benefit the ANC’s cronies in a clear case of state capture.

Minister Tau’s entire conduct in this department and running the NLC is corrupt, appalling, self-serving, and highlights a disregard for the constitution and his responsibilities, something that needs to be challenged if we are to regain control of this public institution.

The National Lottery is meant serve the people, not the pockets of the politically connected. As a result, the EFF is currently in consultation with its legal counsel to consider judicial review of the decision, which includes, but may not be limited to, interdicting the awarding of the contract.

ISSUED BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Sinawo Thambo (National Spokesperson) 072 629 7422

Thembi Msane (National Spokesperson) 061 467 8169

Andiswa Madikazi (Parliament Media Liason) 069 516 4924

Thato Lebyane (Media Inquiries) 078 563 1581