Probe us, NLCB tells Integrity Commission

The board of directors of the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) has denied Opposition allegations that the Government is using lottery monies as a “slush fund,” and has called on the Integrity Commission to investigate the matter. Last week the UNC stormed out of the Senate, charging Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal with shielding Junior Minister of Finance Conrad Enill from having to fully name the beneficiaries of $4.8 million in donations by G-Tech which runs the lottery services for the NLCB. 

Of the $25 million which Enill accounted for, some $7 million went to Ample Advertising, $6 million to Collier Morrison Belgrove, $909,981 to Scrip J Printers, and $898,000 to Publicis Caribbean, with Citadel Ltd (in which Lee Sing, NLCB chairman, is a major shareholder) getting $149,255. The UNC alleged that a lottery “slush fund” that Lee Sing was involved in, was a conflict of interest, and that the NLCB and G-Tech had a “special relationship” with the major beneficiaries. However, the NLCB hit back yesterday as its five directors sent a letter to Integrity Commission chairman, Gordon Deane. It was signed by Louis Lee Sing (NLCB chairman), Carl Groom, Norma Lewis-Phillip, Lyndsay Parmashwar, and Cheryl Guide.

The letter said that the NLCB board had reviewed the UNC charges and was fully satisfied they had no basis. The NLCB board also called for action to restore public confidence. “These allegations warrant an external investigation and (we) accordingly would respectfully request that the commission initiate an investigation on its own initiative persuant to its power under Section 33 of the Integrity in Public Life Act.” The letter said the board and its members had been seriously damaged by these allegations, and now looked forward to the commission’s assistance in probing these matters.