Madam Speaker, the ANC-government's disgraceful treatment of the charities which look after the needs of some of South Africa's most disadvantaged citizens makes a mockery of its promise to put an end to poverty.
When the Lotto came into operation charities were forbidden by law from running any competitions that competed with the Lotto. The promise was made that the National Lottery Board would compensate them for this loss. However, the DA was dismayed to discover that the process of distributing funds to these charities has become an absolute shambles, with devastating consequences for the charities concerned.
After receiving several complaints from charities about payment problems, we recently put out a general request to all charities to inform us about any problems they were experiencing. We were flooded with complaints. Many charities said that they had to lay off staff or are on the verge of closure because they could not get the money they had been promised or had not even signed contracts in that regard.
We were even more disturbed by the reaction of the responsible authorities to this crisis. National Lottery Board chairperson, Sershan Naidoo, has done nothing but deny that there were any problems in the face of irrefutable evidence that serious problems do exist.
Trade and Industry Minister, Mandisi Mphahlwa, has ignored every single request from the DA to hold a commission of inquiry into the problem.
The DA, once again, calls upon the Minister to act in the interest of the South Africans who are poor, disadvantaged and disabled and to stop this discrimination at the Lotto. I thank you.