A Ghanaian good governance advocacy group has accused government officials of engineering what it describes as one of the country’s biggest state capture scandals through an alleged illegal deal between the National Lottery Authority (NLA) and a private company, KGL Group.

In a fiery press briefing delivered in Accra, Good Governance Advocacy Group Ghana’s convener, Listowell Nana Kusi-Poku, a self-described patriotic investigative journalist, alleged that the KGL-NLA arrangement constitutes a “special purpose vehicle for state capture” designed to strip the state of a key revenue-generating institution.

“I stand before you, today, heartbroken and disturbed, to deliver one of the greatest state-capturing scandalous deals ever to hit our beloved country, Ghana,” the spokesperson said.

Allegations of Illegal Monopoly

At the centre of the controversy is the claim that KGL Group, a private enterprise, has been granted exclusive rights to operate the NLA’s most popular lottery game — 5/90 — via digital platforms, bypassing legally mandated procedures and entities.

According to the group, this arrangement contravenes several provisions of the National Lotto Act, 2006 (Act 722), which designates the NLA as the sole operator and regulator of the national lottery. Only licensed Lotto Marketing Companies (LMCs) are authorized to market NLA products, and even then, under strict guidelines.

KGL, the group claims, is neither the NLA nor a licensed LMC, yet continues to run core lottery operations and collect proceeds without pre-financing or proper logging.

“This is not just unethical — it is illegal,” the group declared, citing violations of Sections 2(2), 5(1), and 15 of Act 722. “The NLA has essentially been reduced to borrowing from KGL to survive.”

From Reform to Decline

The National Lottery Authority, once hailed for its profitability and social contributions, has seen a marked downturn since 2017, the group contends. It traces the decline to the appointment of Kofi Osei-Ameyaw as Director-General, under whose leadership the institution allegedly entered into opaque and redundant third-party contracts. These, according to the group, weakened the authority’s financial base and opened the door for private capture.

Osei-Ameyaw’s successor, Sammy Awuku, appointed in 2021, was expected to restore the NLA’s integrity. Instead, the group alleges, Awuku deepened the crisis by formalizing KGL’s monopoly through an unlawful agreement.

“Rather than reforming the NLA, Awuku institutionalised the collapse,” the spokesperson said. “This was the final nail in the coffin.”

Billions in Lost State Revenue

The group estimates that the ongoing arrangement could be costing Ghana up to GHS 5 billion annually in lost revenue. If properly managed, the NLA could generate between GHS 6 billion to GHS 12 billion in revenue, it argues — enough to significantly fund national development in areas such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

“Instead, a private monopoly now benefits from what should be public income,” the group stated.

Calls for Urgent Action

The group issued a series of demands to the NLA’s current management, including:

Immediate cancellation of KGL’s alleged exclusive license. Full legal compliance with Act 722. An independent forensic audit of all transactions between the NLA and KGL. Restoration of the NLA’s independence and removal of all forms of private and political interference.

Should these demands go unmet, the group is calling for the complete shutdown or dissolution of the NLA.

“Restore the NLA. Or shut it down,” the spokesperson concluded. “The cost of inaction is too great. Ghana cannot afford to lose another national institution to political greed.”