Led by KwaZulu-Natal businessmen Moses Tembe<\/strong> and Sandile Zungu<\/strong>, Gold Rush is poised to take the reins from current operator Ithuba<\/strong> at the end of May 2025. The eight-year contract, worth an eye-watering R180 billion ($9.6bn), would place one of South Africa’s most lucrative state functions into private hands, and not without controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) <\/strong>were quick to slam the deal, labelling it “an assault on transparency” and “indicative of a broader culture of patronage”. The party is particularly alarmed by the reported links between Gold Rush and two members of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC)<\/strong> bid evaluation committee: Thiran Marimuthu, who attended Gold Rush’s anniversary event, and Anne-Marie Pooley, who has financial ties to a Pretoria venue operating the consortium’s gaming machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese connections not only compromise the independence of the evaluation process but expose the entire procurement to the risk of collusion and manipulation,\u201d EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo<\/strong> said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further criticism came from Build One South Africa (BOSA)<\/strong>, which is demanding full transparency and has filed a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA<\/strong>) request to uncover the identities and potential conflicts of those involved in the adjudication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSouth Africans have a right to know whether this process has been conducted above board,\u201d BOSA spokesperson Roger Solomons<\/strong> said in a statement, calling on Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau<\/strong> to release all evaluation criteria, scores and panel member declarations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With just weeks left before the handover, concerns are mounting that the transition could jeopardise essential infrastructure, digital systems and – more crucially- the Lottery’s funding of community, youth and educational programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis politically motivated appointment will have disastrous consequences for the functionality of the National Lottery,\u201d warned the EFF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both opposition parties are now calling for urgent parliamentary intervention, vowing not to let a “crucial national institution be hijacked by political favouritism”.<\/p>\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/04\/Adclick_Client-Logos_Ithuba-Lottery-300x200.jpg\")
<\/p>\n