By Prince Musa
Agents of the state-owned Sierra Leone State Lottery (SLSL) in Kenema have accused the company of a breach of contract and threatened action if their grievances were not addressed.
They say Lotto has “repeatedly failed” to pay customers with winning tickets, and that they are also unhappy about the technical problems they encounter making it difficult for them to serve their customers.
A group representing over 40 agents who sell the company’s tickets in the eastern district say they have lodged an official complaint with the police through the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police East, Alfred Karrow Kamara.
Established over 50 years ago, the company has been experiencing a dwindling of its fortunes since the aftermath of the civil war. Officials blamed that on the destruction of its infrastructure.
It has struggled under the shadow of its main rival in the market, the privately-run Mercury International.
But in 2013 SLSL made gains when it transformed its system from manual operations to automation.
The company estimates that there are over 40 registered SLNL machines in Kenema where customers are able to play games three times a day.
The agents say there exists an agreement between them and the state lottery company guaranteeing instant payment and a reliable network whenever there is a winner.
According to Sesay, this has not been happening for the last three years.
They claim that over 50 people won recently with amounts ranging from Le 200, 000 to Le3m, and have not been able to receive their payment.
“We feel disappointed by the lotto company because instant payment no longer exists, and this has caused us embarrassment,” Sesay went on.
Another agent, Marcus Kamara, told Politico that if their demands were not met by this week they would seize all of the company’s machines in their possession.
Anthony Lamin, Branch Manager of the SLNL in Kenema, expressed shock at news of the action of the agents.
While admitting to a delay in payment, Lamin said since he assumed office in difficult situations he had managed to pay winners on time.
He said he only recently ran out of cash and should have gone to Freetown to replenish, as required of his management, when he heard of the report.
Lamin also denied owing the agents any outstanding payments.
Copyright (c) Politico 2016
