Parks Tau faces scrutiny over lottery licence award

MINISTER of Trade, Industry, and Competition Parks Tau is facing mounting pressure after a losing bidder for the fourth lottery licence, Lekalinga (RF) Pty Ltd, applied to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, seeking to review and set aside the decision to award the licence to Sizekhaya Holdings.

- MASHUDU SADIKE

The court application comes hot on the heels of the DA's demand for Tau to appear before the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition to clarify how he selected Sizekhaya Holdings and how he struck a deal with Ithuba Holdings, the current operator of the National Lottery.

The DA has written to the chairperson of the portfolio committee, Mzwandile Masina, demanding that Tau and the National Lotteries Commission chairperson, Barney Pityana, appear before the committee to account for the "opaque manner" in which Sizekhaya Holdings was appointed as the new licence holder.