Parliament’s process to appoint a new chair of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) is being presented as a fresh start — a chance to restore credibility and integrity to an institution long associated with corruption and mismanagement.
While this step is welcome, it will not be enough. South Africans have seen too many “resets” that change the face at the top but not the system beneath. The NLC’s failures go beyond weak leadership — they expose a deliberate architecture of secrecy and patronage that has allowed billions meant for poor communities to be syphoned off with impunity.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered fraudulent allocations worth more than R2bn. Community halls, sports centres and shelters that were paid for never materialised. Auditors and consultants falsified statements to help cronies qualify for funding. Yet, despite this mountain of evidence, prosecutions have been painfully slow, and accountability nearly nonexistent.
This is the real test for parliament: will it demand justice or settle for a cosmetic clean-up?
A credible chair must not only embody integrity, they must commit to structural change. That starts with transparency. Every adjudicator, consultant and beneficiary in the lottery funding chain should be disclosed publicly. Grant allocations, scoring criteria and conflict-of-interest declarations must be made accessible to citizens. If the money comes from the public, the process must serve the public.
Equally critical is consequence management. The NLC cannot regain legitimacy while those who looted it remain free or re-emerge in other state entities. Parliament should insist that the SIU’s findings translate into real criminal prosecutions, asset recovery and the permanent blacklisting of the individuals and companies involved.
But genuine reform also requires democratic oversight. Communities, NGOs and independent watchdogs — not just politicians — should sit on advisory panels that track how funds are spent and report back publicly. This will make it far harder for the next wave of corruption to hide behind bureaucratic processes.
Tsepo Mhlongo
Orlando East
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