The Chamber of Indigenous Business & Investors (CIBI) has launched a scathing attack on The Fourth Estate and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), describing their investigative report on the National Lottery Authority’s (NLA) deal with KGL Technology Limited as “completely bogus” and executed with “malicious intentions.”
In a strongly-worded rebuttal signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Alistair Nelson, CIBI chastised the media entities for what it termed “poor journalistic” standards, “sensationalism,” and “gross ignorance” of lottery operations governed by the National Lotto Act, 2006 (Act 722).
The chamber’s statement systematically dismantles the core allegations made in the investigative report, providing data and legal justifications to counter the claims.
Debunking The “GHS 3 Billion” Claim
CIBI described as “extremely false” the report’s assertion that the NLA gave away a GHS 3 billion prime business to KGL for “peanuts.”
According to data from the NLA, the authority’s total revenue for the eight-year period from 2013 to 2020 was GHS 2.7 billion, with the highest annual revenue being GHS 401 million in 2017.
“Therefore, Fourth Estate Lied to the public about an annual revenue of a GHS 3 Billion business of NLA being given away to KGL,” the statement read.
Licence, Not a Contract
A key point of contention raised by CIBI is the mischaracterization of the NLA-KGL arrangement as a “contract.” The Chamber clarified that it is a “Licensing Agreement” issued by the NLA Board under Act 722 and L.I. 1948.
“All licensing agreements issued by NLA to Lotto Marketing Companies… have NEVER gone through the procurement process since they are NOT procurement contracts,” the statement emphasized, labelling the media’s conclusion as “very misleading” and “unprofessional.”
KGL Payments “Best Deal” For NLA
On the claim that the GHS 170 million annual payment by KGL was “peanuts,” CIBI presented figures showing that this amount exceeds any single annual payment the NLA itself made to the Consolidated Fund between 2013 and 2020.
The statement revealed that from 2013-2020 (8 years), the NLA paid a total of GHS 182 million to the Consolidated Fund.
“The annual payment of GHS 170 million by KGL… exceeds all the individual figures paid by NLA itself to the Consolidated Fund from 2013-2020,” CIBI stated, adding that KGL’s payments over five years have already surpassed NLA’s total contributions over a 12-year period.
Exclusivity Justified by History of Failures
CIBI defended the exclusive nature of the license granted to KGL, explaining that the NLA has no capacity to pre-finance or directly operate the USSD shortcode itself, and that past partnerships with other companies for similar digital platforms had all failed.
The Chamber listed four previous failed attempts by other entities to run the NLA 5/90 USSD before KGL’s successful operation.
The statement concluded by urging the media organizations to retract their “bogus” report, which it believes was published with “malicious intentions” against an indigenous company fulfilling its tax obligations and revolutionizing lottery operations in Ghana.
Story By: Dennis Ato Keelson
