External Consultant to KGL, Dr. Razak Opoku, has challenged Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s account of the benefits accruing to the state from lottery operations involving the National Lottery Authority (NLA).
Dr. Opoku accused the Finance Minister of misinforming the public after Dr. Forson reportedly stated that the NLA received only GH¢10 million in dividends from the lottery business.
In a statement sighted by The Chronicle, Dr. Opoku said the figure did not provide a complete picture of the financial benefits received by the state from KGL’s lottery operations.
He said Ghanaian taxpayers, through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) received more than GH¢153 million from KGL on April 16, 2026 in respect of the 2025 financial year.
According to him, taxpayers also benefited through the NLA, which received more than GH¢173 million from KGL during the period.
“The Finance Minister respectfully needs to get his facts right about the benefits Ghanaian taxpayers received from the lottery business,” Dr. Opoku said.
He questioned why the NLA could receive more than GH¢173 million from KGL while the Ministry of Finance received only GH¢10 million in dividends from the authority.
“As Finance Minister, he needs to be interested in understanding how the NLA received GH¢173 million from KGL, while the Ministry of Finance received only GH¢10 million in dividends from the NLA,” he said.
NLA expenditure
Dr. Opoku said the more fundamental issue was not necessarily the review of agreements involving the NLA, but what he described as the authority’s expenditure and use of its financial resources.
He alleged that more than 90 per cent of the NLA’s income was being spent on the Good Causes Foundation and other community social responsibility (CSR) activities, leaving only GH¢10 million in dividends for the Ministry of Finance.
“The major problem of NLA is wastage of financial resources. It does not make sense for NLA to use over 90 per cent of its income on Good Causes Foundation and other Community Social Responsibilities (CSR) activities and pay only GH¢10 million dividend to the Ministry of Finance,” he said.
Dr. Opoku further argued that increasing revenues to the NLA would not necessarily translate into greater returns to the state if the authority continued to spend heavily on what he described as unnecessary internal operations and activities.
He said the issue should therefore be addressed as part of the government’s broader efforts to reset public finances, rather than focusing solely on a review of existing agreements.
“The more NLA receives, the more they use the money on needless internal operations and activities at the detriment of the taxpayers,” he said.
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