Parliamentary committee shortlists three candidates for NLC chair
The committee’s report now goes to the National Assembly for approval when Parliament returns in February 2026.
South Africa.- South Africa’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition has recommended three candidates to replace Barney Pityana as chairperson of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). Pityana, 80, stepped down in late 2025 but will remain in the post until a permanent successor is appointed.
After interviewing six shortlisted applicants on December 2, the committee selected King Tembinkosi Bonakele, Mpho Mosing and Lufuno Toyko Nevondwe.
Bonakele, already a serving NLC Board Member, previously spent nine years as Head of the Competition Commission, leading major investigations into cartels and price-fixing. Mosing chaired the Audit and Risk Committee of the State Diamond Trader and took part in the Gauteng Liquor Board’s inquiry into fraud and poor controls. Nevondwe, an advocate, currently chairs the trust that protects lottery funds for winners and beneficiaries, while also serving on the boards of the Film and Publication Board and the South African National Space Agency.
The committee’s report now goes to the National Assembly for approval when Parliament returns in February 2026. The final appointment will be made by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, who will select one of the three candidates.
Committee members described the process as calm and professional, a notable departure from the delays and legal battles that marked the previous appointment in 2022.
The NLC oversees games that raise around R4bn (€216m) annually for charities, sport and community projects. The new chairperson will take office at a time when public confidence in grant distribution needs rebuilding and online gambling is growing rapidly. No appointment is expected before mid-2026.
