Pretoria - Requests to the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) regarding operational information related to the National Lottery may negatively impact on the upcoming bidding process of awarding a new licence to operate the lottery, said the department.
In a statement on Monday, the department said it had received several queries from journalists and Parliamentary questions from members of the opposition party requesting operational information.
“In our opinion, the questions are not of direct public interest and come at a time that the National Lotteries Board is preparing to release a Request for Proposals, as the start of a process of awarding a new licence to operate the National Lottery.
“The department is therefore concerned that the information sought may be used by parties intending to participate in a future bidding process,” said the dti.
It added that it will evaluate the requests and will not respond as a matter of course, in light of the previous experience when a licence was awarded and the National Lottery was subsequently suspended for six months due to unsuccessful court challenges from rival bidders.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has put in place mechanisms to promote a fair and transparent process in the awarding of the new licence.
“All relevant information required by potential bidders will become available to all the bidders at the appropriate time. The information to be provided to the bidders would be in line with tender processes.”
Meanwhile, the dti also responded to a leaked Public Protector provisional report.
“The dti has noted with concern that a provisional report by the Public Protector concerning the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) [has been leaked].”
The report is based on a 2001 customer complaint levelled against the SABS by a number plate manufacturer.
“It must be noted that the nature of the complaint refers to the historical role of SABS as a regulator and SABS no longer performs this function. This matter does not question the technical nature of the Bureau as the SABS Mark is the number one trusted mark of approval that is celebrated all over the world.”
The dti assured the public that any product that carries the SABS Mark has gone through rigorous testing and conformity assessment.
“The department of Trade and Industry notes that the report issued by the Public Protector is provisional and is still subject to comments from SABS,” it said. - SAnews.gov.za
