The Finance Minister has been accused of providing inaccurate information about the benefits Ghanaian taxpayers have received from the country’s lottery business.
The criticism follows claims that taxpayers had not benefited from the lottery sector in previous years, with the former Public Relations Manager of NLA, Dr Razak Kojo Opoku arguing that significant payments have already been made to the state through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and National Lottery Authority (NLA).
According to him, Ghanaian taxpayers, through the GRA, received more than GH¢153 million from KGL on April 16, 2026, in relation to the 2025 financial year.
It further claims that taxpayers, through the NLA, benefited from more than GH¢173 million from KGL.
He made this accusation while reacting to a statement by the Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson that since 2018 NLA had not presented a pesewa to the Ministry of Finance.
He therefore urged the Finance Minister to establish how the NLA received GH¢173 million from KGL while the Ministry of Finance received only GH¢10 million in dividends from the NLA.
It also disclosed that 29 other private lotto operators licensed by the NLA paid GH¢44.9 million to the Authority in 2025.
Mr Opoku argued that these private operators also pay taxes to the GRA and therefore contribute to government revenue.
He consequently rejected the claim that taxpayers were benefiting from the lottery business for the first time since 2018.
“Strictly speaking, the Finance Minister has engaged in misinformation on this particular subject matter.
It is NEVER TRUE that this is the first time the taxpayers are benefitting from lottery business since 2018.”
Mr Opoku’s criticism also focused on the financial management of the NLA, arguing that the Authority’s major challenge is the alleged wastage of its financial resources.
According to him, the NLA uses more than 90% of its income on its Good Causes Foundation and other corporate social responsibility activities, while paying only GH¢10 million in dividends to the Ministry of Finance.
He further argued that the issue should therefore go beyond reviewing agreements and should instead focus on reducing what was described as unnecessary expenditure within the NLA.
“It is not necessarily about reviewing of agreements but it is about tackling wastage of financial resources at the NLA as a resetting government.”
He further alleged that increased revenue received by the NLA has been accompanied by increased spending on internal operations and activities, which it claimed was to the detriment of taxpayers.
He call for greater scrutiny of the NLA’s revenue management, expenditure and dividend payments to government.
