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The Public Servants Association (PSA) notes the resignation of Dr Barney Pityana as the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) Board Chairperson and calls on the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition to urgently fill the vacancy to ensure stability in the organisation.
 
Dr Pityana took over as NLC Board Chairperson at a time when the NLC was in turmoil with ongoing revelations of widespread corruption and looting, implicating former board members and executives. His three-year stint has not stabilised the NLC, which is still marred by allegations of corruption.
 
The PSA will remember Dr Pityana for his micromanagement style and interference in the NLC’s day-to-day operations, which was not his role as Chairperson of the Board. After PSA members at the NCL in April 2025 undertook a protest march to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to deliver a memorandum of grievances, Dr Pityana sent a scathing letter on his personal letterhead to the PSA, falsely accusing PSA members of corruption and threatening withdrawal of the PSA’s organisational rights as conferred by the Labour Relations Act. This was not his space as the memorandum was directed at the Minister of the DTIC and not the Board Chairperson.
 
The PSA’s concern related to the lack of decisive, ethical governance and continued deterioration of conditions affecting employees and the NLC’s credibility. During Dr Pityana’s tenure, the PSA witnessed an increase in the hiring of consultants to undertake the same functions assigned to employees as a duplication and wasteful expenditure. The PSA also noticed and reported on the former Chairperson’s silence over possible political interference in the award of the fourth national lottery licence. This was a clear breach of the National Lotteries Act, Chapter 2(13)(iv), which deals with granting of licence by role players who influenced the decision.

Allegations of interference and conflict of interest in the bid committee awarding tenders also went unchecked under his watch despite glaring evidence of the proximity with beneficiaries of tenders. The PSA is on record for questioning Dr Pityana’s capacity to actively engage, make timely decisions, and lead the NLC through its challenges. Leadership, agility, and responsiveness critical in times of crisis were not displayed during his tenure. Under his leadership, the NLC suffered from inconsistent and unclear governance, including the Board’s indecision on key matters such as the excessive cost on property rentals, whilst owning a property in the same province. This resulted in irregular and wasteful expenditure. Dr Pityana’s leadership approach has shown detachment and a lack of empathy toward employees and institutional wellbeing.

Under Dr Pityana’s leadership there was a dismantling of collective bargaining by unilaterally and arbitrary decision-making, which left employees voiceless in critical matters. For the past four years, during which Dr Pityana was Chairperson for three years, bonuses were denied under the guise of public perception, despite clear internal justifications of employee’s performance. Reparation processes were delayed or vague, leading to widespread stakeholder frustration.
 
The PSA has long called for the removal of Dr Pityana as NLC Board Chairperson thus welcomes his decision to voluntary resign. The PSA urges the Minister of the DTIC to draw lessons from this saga and urgently fill the vacancy with a credible candidate who will steer the NLC to achieve its mandate, which include monitoring, regulating, and policing lotteries incidental to exempt entertainment, private lotteries, society lotteries and any competition contemplated in section 54 of the Lotteries Amendment Act, 2013.

Issued by the Public Servants Association