Latest news with #MosesTembe
TimesLIVE
06-06-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Lotto red flag: one way or another, the state will get that ‘tax' bump
It still might be a few more years until the South African government takes over the running of the lottery, but at least we can guess its new slogan already: Tata ma chance, ta-ta ma billions. According to the Sunday Times, Sizekhaya Holdings, tapped to take over from Ithuba, is likely to be the last private company to oversee the continued transfer of money from the very poor to the increasingly rich, with plans afoot to see the lottery handed over to the state once Sizekhaya's turn at the trough comes to an end. Once this handover happens, Sizekhaya board chairperson Moses Tembe explained, the new government-run lottery would look something like current lotteries in China, where, in a rare nod to actual communism, the Chinese Communist Party controls the means of production, or at least the means of producing gambling addicts. To be fair, not all lottery players in South Africa are addicts being deliberately preyed upon by cynical millionaires: most are just desperately poor people being deliberately preyed upon by cynical millionaires. Still, you can understand why our Government of National Unity should be so keen to get its hands on this gigantic money-printing machine, not least because so much of that money comes without immediate political cost.
Eyewitness News
02-06-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
KZN businessman Tembe denies claims of 'cronyism' after Sizekhaya secures lottery licence
JOHANNESBURG - KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) business mogul, Moses Tembe has hit back at his detractors, denying claims of "cronyism" after his consortium won the highly sought-after national lottery licence. Tembe's Sizekhaya Holdings was recently announced as the fourth national lottery and sports pool licence holder, replacing Ithuba Holdings. This is one of government's most expensive tenders, worth about R200 billion over eight years. Following the announcement, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Build One South Africa (BOSA) raised questions about the consortium's links with the African National Congress (ANC). ALSO READ: Some opposition parties want Minister Tau to publicly disclose details of Sizekhaya Holdings, National Lottery contract While one of the shareholders, Sandile Zungu, has demonstrated links with the biggest party in the Government of National Unity, there are no public links with Tembe. Tembe said that Sizekhaya won the lotto licence fair and square. "What won it for Sizekhaya was not the backhanders or cronyism as our detractors would claim, it was our promise to elevate the lottery to new heights, to generate more money for good causes." Tembe said that Sizekhaya promised to hand over its intellectual property to the government once its licence expired. This would allow government to run its lotto operations in-house. Sizekhaya's contract is only set to take effect next June after Ithuba was granted a temporary extension.
Eyewitness News
01-06-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Incoming lottery operator Sizekhaya Holdings commits to giving IP to govt once licence expires
JOHANNESBURG - Incoming National Lottery operator Sizekhaya Holdings has committed to handing over its intellectual property (IP) to government once its licence expires. This will allow the government to be able to run its Lotto operations in-house. ALSO READ: Lotto operations to run normally after Ithuba Holdings licence temporarily extended Sizekhaya was recently announced as the fourth National Lottery and Sports Pool licence holder, starting from 1 June 2026, taking over from Ithuba. This is one of government's most expensive tenders, worth about R200 billion over eight years. 'We have promised to hand over the intellectual property of our lottery design, development and execution to the government for insource capacity to run the Lotto at the end of our tenure. This and many reasons are why we believe we won the right to operate the Lotto for the next eight years,' said the chairperson of Sizekhaya Holdings, Moses Tembe.
IOL News
01-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
How deal was struck to save National Lottery from shutdown
Sizekhaya Holdings is led by a consortium that includes KwaZulu-Natal business figures such as Moses Tembe, former Chairperson of the KZN Growth Coalition, and Sandile Zungu, owner of AmaZulu football club. Image: Sihle Mlambo/IOL In tense, last minute discussions at the weekend, Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Parks Tau intervened to prevent a shutdown of the popular National Lottery. Tau's intervention came after a high-stakes meeting on Saturday with the National Lottery Commission (NLC) and Ithuba, the current lottery operator. The situation arose after a Gauteng High Court ruled that Ithuba's operating license could only be extended for five months, until the new operator, Sizekhaya Holdings takes over. However the NLC had argued that a 12-month temporary license was necessary to ensure a smooth transition, but the court disagreed. However, in a surprise move, Tau announced that he had granted a 12-month temporary license to Ithuba Holdings, allowing them to continue operating the National Lottery from June 1 until the end of May next year - when Sizekhaya Holdings takes over as the operator. According to sources close to Tau, the minister promised Ithuba that they would not lose any revenue and would instead make a profit, although the details of how this would be achieved are not clear. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading "It was an intense meeting, and the minister knew what impact it would have on the country's economy given the scale of the tender and people relying on playing the lotto week in and week out," a source said. Ithuba had argued in court that if they accepted a five-month extension, they would incur a loss of R51 million. Ithuba has agreed to continue operating the National Lottery, ensuring that all games, draws, and prize payouts will proceed normally. The company has reassured the public that they will maintain their commitment to integrity, transparency, and the benefit of South Africans. "As a proudly 100% black-owned South African operator, Ithuba remains steadfast in its commitment to operate the National Lottery with integrity, transparency, and for the benefit of South Africans," the company stated on Saturday. While this agreement provides short-term relief, the long-term future of the National Lottery remains uncertain. Sizekhaya Holdings, the preferred bidder, is set to take over the lottery in June 2026, but questions remain about the transparency of the licensing process and the impact of further legal challenges. Announcing the preferred bidder Tau said he had received a report from the NLC regarding the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations with the preferred bidder for the Fourth National Lottery and Sports Pools Licence. 'I am pleased to announce that I have awarded Sizekhaya Holdings (RF) (Pty) Ltd ('Sizekhaya') the licence in terms of section 13 of the Lotteries Act 57 of 1997. As I indicated previously, I intended to announce the successful bidder on 28 May 2025 provided that the licence agreement negotiations with the preferred bidder were successfully concluded. I wish to thank the parties to the negotiations for completing their work in time. 'It is most unfortunate that this matter has already become the subject of litigation and a judgment of the High Court. I am seeking legal advice with a view to appealing against the judgment's findings and orders, and I reserve all my rights concerning this judgment. 'With due respect to the Honourable High Court, my announcement is the result of my undertaking made to the bidders and the Court before the hearing of the ends a long and difficult process of evaluating eight applications for the fourth licence. I appreciate that this has been an enormous and complex endeavour,' Tau said. On Sunday, Sizekhaya Holdings chairperson Moses Tembe, expressed his gratitude for being awarded the fourth lottery licence by the National Lottery "We welcome that the honourable Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau appreciated the power of our vision. When the National Lottery was first mooted after the ushering in of our democracy, the most compelling argument for its existence was income it could generate to help the poorest and most vulnerable of South Africans," said Tembe. Tembe is a co-owner with Sandile Zungu, the owner of Amazulu Football. Ithuba had previously expressed disappointment at the decision to award the license to Sizekhaya Holdings, stating that they had invested significantly in developing the lottery infrastructure and had made significant contributions to good causes. "As a fully South African-owned and black-empowered operator, Ithuba Lottery has invested significantly in developing the first African central lottery system, owned and developed for Africa by South Africans," the company stated.
IOL News
01-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
New Lotto boss says the game's back on — and this time, it's for the people
Moses Tembe, the chairman of Sizekhaya Holdings, has expressed the company's gratitude for being awarded the fourth lottery licence by the National Lottery "We welcome that the honourable Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau appreciated the power of our vision. When the National Lottery was first mooted after the ushering in of our democracy, the most compelling argument for its existence was income it could generate to help the poorest and most vulnerable of South Africans," said Tembe. He went on to say that when the lottery is run well, it can become a powerful force for good. "We have seen glimpses of this in South Africa. In its 25 years of operation, the lottery has funded thousands of organisations that contribute to much needed community development. But we believe that it can deliver so much more. That is why Sizekhaya Holdings bid for the lottery."
