Lottery operator declared illegal

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The High Court in Pretoria has declared the decision to award the lottery licence to Ithuba invalid.

"The decision of the minister to award the tender to Ithuba is invalid and the licence issue done by the minister is set aside, provided that the operation of the order is suspended for a month," Judge Neil Tuchten ruled on Wednesday.

"The rewarding of the licence is remitted to the minister for reconsideration."

Gidani chief executive Bongani Khumalo described the judgment as "momentous" but said he would first have to fully study the judgment before commenting in detail.

Gidani last year asked the court to review the decision to award the lottery licence to Ithuba, but the court ruled that its application was not urgent.

However, Gidani said it would still pursue a judicial review as it believed the election of Ithuba was irrational and arbitrary.

Ithuba started trading in June despite the pending court challenge.

News24 - http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Lottery-operator-declared-illegal-20150708
 
So does this mean they have to go collect all the new machines they laid out? ouch.
 
Judging by how poorly the Ithuba roll out went I think it's safe to assume the courts are right. Wonder if the minister will have to pay back the bribes.
 
Nick333 said:
Eish! Something is very wrong with myBB.
Click to expand...

Article is from the wire service - this has been done for News24 wire articles since the demise of SAPA and News24 wire started

as for the demise of N&CA ...
 
Paul Hjul said:
Article is from the wire service - this has been done for News24 wire articles since the demise of SAPA and News24 wire started

as for the demise of N&CA ...
Click to expand...

Hi, Paul. Did you miss me as much as you just missed my sarcasm?
 
lol, there delays my 1 online ticket I buy each month by more time.
 
Drifter said:
Being a bit pedantic much?
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being a bit wrong:
6) We do have subscriptions to certain News Feeds so we are allowed to post some articles in their entirety. Please change the headlines from uppercase to lowercase and include the credit tag at the end. Please see below for an example of how to post a articles.
Click to expand...

Headling is in lowercase
"Credit tag" of "News24 - http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...legal-20150708" appears
 
Nick333 said:
Judging by how poorly the Ithuba roll out went I think it's safe to assume the courts are right. Wonder if the minister will have to pay back the bribes.
Click to expand...

What bribes? That was an upliftment donation............:wtf:
 
Minister's awarding of lottery license irrational - judge

Pretoria - A Pretoria high court judge has described Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies's decision to award the national lottery license to Ithuba as irrational and "displaying an excessive appetite for risk".

Judge Neil Tuchten granted an order to Gidani declaring Davies's decision to award the third lottery license to Ithuba unconstitutional and invalid.

He set aside the license which was issued by the minister to Ithuba on November 24 last year.

Judge Tuchten also suspended the operation of the order for a month and the awarding of the licence has been referred back to the minister.

However, Tuchten could find no fault with the minister’s preference for Ithuba as the preferred bidder for the lottery licence and only took issue with the manner in which the tender was awarded.

"It is in the public interest that a flawed decision, defended in this manner, should not be allowed to stand. There is a risk that the full picture has even now not emerged," he said.

Judge Tuchten made it clear that the minister had "damage control powers" to limit or eliminate the risk that the lottery would cease to function.

"The minister may, in a proper case, decide not to issue a license at all, in which case he may appoint an organ of state to run the lottery. Where the licensee is for any reason whatsoever unable to conduct the National Lottery, the minister may under certain circumstances issue a temporary license.”

Judge Tuchten went on to say the purpose of the lottery was to provide funds for good causes.

"Any interruption in the conduct of the lottery will have severely detrimental consequences for those institutions that rely, or have a reasonable expectation of relying, on funding generated by the lottery,” he said, adding that while he was aware that Ithuba had committed a substantial amount of money to the venture, those were “inherent in a tender environment which is subject to the rule of law”.

"The minister, with the support and co-operation of both Ithuba and the [Lotteries] Board, entered into the license agreement while litigation to prevent their doing so was pending. Now that all the evidence is in, I cannot see any reason for the haste with which this happened, "he said.

Judge Tuchten found that Davies had awarded the license without Ithuba putting up the required performance bond of R125m before the license was issued.

Ithuba only provided the bond during the course of legal argument in the application.

He also found that the minister's decision was irrational because he failed to take into consideration that certain provisions of the license agreement, if implemented, could result in Ithuba's insolvency.

News24

Source: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...-of-lottery-license-irrational-judge-20150708
 
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