The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have voiced serious concerns over the National Lottery’s R180 billion contract, reportedly awarded to the Gold Rush Consortium, led by KwaZulu-Natal businessmen Moses Tembe and Sandile Zungu. The deal, which covers the next eight years, is under intense scrutiny for alleged political interference and conflicts of interest tied to the African National Congress (ANC).

The EFF highlights the deep connections between the consortium’s leaders and the ANC. Sandile Zungu, owner of AmaZulu FC, once contested the ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairpersonship, while Moses Tembe is known as a key ANC funder and ally.

Further raising red flags, two members of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) bid evaluation committee, Thiran Marimuthu and Anne-Marie Pooley have personal and professional links to the Gold Rush Consortium. Pooley, notably, is the sole director of a business that houses Gold Rush gaming machines.

The party has slammed Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition Parks Tau for conducting the negotiations behind closed doors, branding it an “assault on transparency” and a symptom of a wider culture of ANC patronage. They warn that this process risks undermining the lottery’s intended developmental role, funneling billions into the pockets of politically connected elites rather than serving the public interest.

Calls for protests and legal challenges to halt the contract are gaining momentum.

The EFF insists that Minister Tau be called to Parliament to explain the opaque process and demands a fully transparent and ethical bidding procedure that prioritizes the National Lottery’s social mandate over political patronage.

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