Three names have been recommended to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau to appoint the chairperson for the board of the National Lotteries Commission.
Image: Thobile Mathonsi / Independent Newspapers Archives
The DA has voted against the report recommending three candidates for the key position of the board chairperson of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) despite the party scoring one of the preferred candidates higher.
The party has now been accused of racism and looking down on black excellence.
This took place after the National Assembly recommended on Tuesday three names to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau to appoint the chairperson for the NLC board.
The Trade, Industry and Competition Portfolio Committee had presented its report following the interviews of five candidates in December 2025.
The interviews were sparked by the resignation of chairperson Barney Pityana, who resigned last year, just two years before the end of his five-year term.
Mzwandile Masina, chairperson of the Trade, Industry and Competition Portfolio Committee, said National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza referred a letter in October 2025 from Tau, where he requested that they make recommendations regarding the suitability of nominees for appointment as chairperson of the National Lotteries Commission board.
A total of 22 nominations were received, and six candidates were shortlisted for the interviews, but one withdrew.
Masina also said the committee decided to recommend its top three candidates during deliberations, Tembinkosi Bonakele, Mpho Mosing, and Lufuno Nevondwe for the position.
“Notwithstanding that the recommended candidates meet the legislative requirements and given the outcome of the security vetting by the State Security Agency, the minister may consider conducting a probity test of the proposed candidates, as envisaged in Section 3A(2) of the Lotteries Act, before finalising his decision,” he said.
However, the DA objected to the report in a move that prompted the EFF to call for a division of the House.
An overwhelming 218 members voted in favour of the report, while 59 DA members voted against.
On Wednesday, DA MP Toby Chance said they voted against the report on principle because Bonakele was on the NLC board that had not done its duty to compensate the entity’s whistle-blowers despite R10 million set aside for reparations.
“We took a principled decision that, as a matter of principle, we would not approve the report because one of the recommended candidates is on the current board. We believe the NLC has not done its duty in compensating the whistle-blowers. It was a protest vote that we believe that we needed to take and send a message that this type of thing is not acceptable,” Chance said.
ANC MP Lufefe Mkutu said the DA used Bonakele as an excuse to reject the report despite scoring him at 80% for his performance at the interviews.
“The reason the DA is doing that is that it is not enough that a black person can be excellent, can meet every criterion. They just go to find a stain on his character. In the interviews where it mattered the most and throughout his career, he (Bonakele) sufficiently possessed intellectual acumen and credibility to govern on the boards and where he has served,” he said.
Chance dismissed Mkutu’s suggestion.
“We reject his assertions completely. It has nothing to do with race of any candidate. It was a point of principle,” he added.
MK Party MP Andile Mngxitama expressed delight that Bonakele was one of the preferred candidates, saying he was “a well-regarded and respected long-term public servant”.
“The NLC is in good hands. We support this appointment,” Mngxitama said.
IFP MP Thokozani Langa said all the recommended candidates demonstrated requisite expertise, integrity, and leadership to steer the NLC board and execute its mandate.
“However, our recognition of the candidates’ potential must not be construed as a licence for unsuited action,” he said.
ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said the selection process was an opportunity to restore credibility to the deeply compromised institution.
“We welcome the committee’s explicit recommendation that the minister consider a probity test. This must not be treated as optional. This is essential. South Africa deserves that the next chairperson will not merely preside over the NLC and the status quo but will actively dismantle the institutional rot that compromised the NLC,” said Trollip.
mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za