The parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition today prevented Minister Ebrahim Patel from submitting to the Committee a short list of candidates to follow up the controversial chairperson of the National Lottery Commission, Prof Alfred Nevhutanda, whose term ends on the 30th of November.
The Lotteries Act (No 57 of 1997) clearly stipulates that the chairperson of the Lottery Board must be appointed after the relevant minister gave notice in the Government Gazette and has invited, in at least two newspapers in every province, interested parties to nominate potential candidates.
After a transparent process of consideration, the Portfolio Committee of the National Assembly must then make recommendations to the minister. The onus to compile a short list of candidates and make recommendations to the minister lies with the Committee and not the Minister himself.
After considering various legal opinions, the Committee unanimously decided to meet again on Wednesday to draw up a plan with new timelines to ensure that the process followed to fill the vacancy is transparent and fair.
The FF Plus welcomes the Committee's decision and considers it a good example of how the role of oversight is meant to hold a minister and department accountable.
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