|
| 
 DEPARTMENT of NATIONAL LOTTERIES
Interview with
Mr, Col. Martin Gbikpi,
Director
October 10th 1999
Contact :
P.O.Box M 506, Accra - GHANA
Tel: (233 21) 668 805/6 – 664 955 ext. 101
Fax: (233 21) 668 809
|
Could you give us a brief historical background of the Department of National Lotteries?
The Department of National Lotteries was established by an act of Parliament in 1962 to generate revenue to support government development and we have been pursuing this mission since then. Every year we have to pay our revenue to the Consolidated Accounts and the management of the account is left to the government. We do not have any charities with corporations. We are operating a manual type of lottery; a 5/90 game which can be seen in every nook and crook of the country. We have tried to decentralise our operations in the rural areas. Our draws are on Saturdays and we ensure that payment of prizes are effected on Mondays. For some time now we have tried to change from manual to semi-automated system. This system applies only in the urban areas due to logistic and communication constraints. We are thinking of putting it on line to become more like a computer game. We also introduced a game called the 6/40 jackpot two years ago. It is a game played on the computer terminal and this game is concentrated only in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Ho. We will try to bring in more games and even establish a National Bingo game in this country, just like the Swedish Bingo. The preparations are well advanced and we hope to be off the ground by February.
What do you expect from this game in terms of Revenue and in terms of the number of people who will play this game?
The prizes to be offered will be more attractive and this will yield much more revenue since it is a dividend kind of game. Percentage of sales automatically come to us as profit and the government gains immediately. Unlike the 5/90 system where the World Investment News Ltdr takes all, this new system which is the dividend type guarantees our profitability.
What is the most popular and profitable game that you have at the moment?
The most popular is the traditional 5/90 game which has been followed since 1963 by people and they put some kind of assurance in the game. It is the most profitable.
How do you ensure that payments are done, especially in the rural areas where things are done manually?
We have a system whereby we pick up all the wining tickets on Saturday night so by the close of work we know the volume of wins in the regions and this is what we use to start paying on Monday.
Who are your competitors in Ghana and what is your market share?
Our market share is about 50%. To some extent lottery has been privatised. District Assemblies are allowed to run or authorise lotteries so that they can earn some revenue for their districts. We have what we call banker-to-banker; these are people who parasite on our game. The operators are however not paying their taxes as they should and the government is losing a lot of revenue.
What measures has government put in place?
The government has set up an oversight committee on the operations of lottery in Ghana to review the laws which brought about the proliferation of lotteries in this country. A new law will be approved by parliament after studying the report of this committee and we hope it will streamline the control divisions of these private operators.
What strategy do you want to put in place to face this competition?
We have moved into the rural areas and we are trying to effect payments as quickly as possible so that the private operators do not have the advantage over us.
What particular region do you want to concentrate on now?
We operate up to the Northern Region but we are yet to establish an office in the Upper West and Upper East regions.
When do you expect your lotteries to be fully computerised?
Communications is a big problem and until that area is well established it will be difficult for us to go completely computerised. We are hoping that some foreign partners will bring in satellites to solve that communication problem and then we can go fully online.
As a member of both the International Association of State Lotteries and the African Association of State Lotteries. To what extent do you benefit from these memberships?
I am the current President of the African Association of State Lotteries. We do achieve a lot by interaction, learning from each other, sending delegations from one sister country to another to learn and improve on our systems. We will be meeting in Accra from the 29th of November to the 3rd of December for the 10th Congress of the African Association of State Lotteries. We are expecting about 200 participants and the theme is "What kind of lottery for Africa in the 3rd Millennium?"
| To what extent has your department contributed to the improvement of the quality of life of Ghanaians?
We generate revenue to the Consolidated Accounts and the government uses it for development. We have no direct control over it.
Do you invest in any social projects?
We do not actually concentrate on social projects. We hardly spend money on any social activity. Once in a while we give sponsorship to a football team or towards the farmers day.
What would you say is the image of the Department here in Ghana and on an international basis?
We are not doing badly. A lot of African countries come here to confer with us and we take part in seminars and congresses. We are highly ranked as one of the well established lotteries in Africa.
What are you doing to maintain this image?
We are working in a very old structure and we are putting up a 6 story to accommodate the staff and we hope the public will see our image. This alone can promote our image. By the end of the year it should be ready.
Could you tell us how many members of staff you have and what your annual turnover?
We have about 350 members of staff. We do a weekly sale of 1 billion cedis.
How do you see the future of your department in terms of people and revenue?
Revenue is certainly going to increase. These new games in addition to the ones we already have will bring an increase in revenue and will attract more players. With the new coming law we expect that a lot of the private operators will be disqualified and the market will be open to us.
What are your specific plans for the future?
We have this interactive game which we are trying to introduce, and this is priority. If that works then the next priority is to computerise our existing game, put it fully online.
Are you looking for foreign partnerships in order to be able to invest into the needed technology?
We are limited in resources and we cannot on our own do any serious computerisation so definitely we will have to look for partnerships. Already Benjaya from Malaysia are consultants for the 6/40 Jackpot, IGS from Sweden were partners in the Interactive Game System.
Are you also looking into the American Market for partnerships?
We look into the whole market before we make a selection. We will continue to look for more partnerships in the future.
Could you give us a brief background of yourself, telling us what your greatest achievement has been since you have been the Director of the Department of National Lottery?
I am a Commissioned Officer of the Ghana Army, which I joined in 1963 straight from school. I was commissioned in 1965 as a Lieutenant in the finance section and I rose through the ranks to the position of Defence Financial Controller. I held that appointment for 7 years until I was seconded to the National Lottery in 1993. I am on retirement from the military and absorbed into this appointment.
The decentralisation policy is what I will consider my greatest achievement. My staff did very well because it involved a lot of risks. I took this risk after being here for just 3 months. If we had not done that we would have been thrown out by the private operators.
As you know Forbes Magazine reaches more than 4 million readers, mainly businessmen. What is your final message to them?
As the Gateway to Africa I hope investors will come and take advantage of the progress we are making.
|
© World INvestment NEws, 1999.
This is the electronic edition of the special country report on Ghana published in Forbes
December 13th 1999 Issue.
Developed by AgenciaE.Tv |
|
|
|
| | | | | |
|
GHANA
