ROAD PROTEST
Bingo roll-out and the mystery letter
THE Bingo Association of South Africa wants KZN Premier Willies Mchunu and MEC for Finance Belinda Scott to roll out electronic bingo terminals.
The association said it had a letter, allegedly signed by former KZN premier Senzo Mchunu, in which Mchunu revealed his decision to withdraw the court challenge stopping the rollout of the terminals in the province.
It was signed two days before he resigned from office after being asked to do so by the ANC.
According to the letter, which the Sunday Tribune has seen, Mchunu claimed “government was not serving any purpose by remaining in court beyond this point.”
He added that he had consulted an attorney and senior counsel but their views had been mixed.
He then got a third opinion from advocate TG Madonsela SC whose view was that both the office of the premier and the MEC of Finance lacked the “requisite locus standi (they had no right) to successfully challenge the decision of the board because both offices were not aggrieved parties.”
Mchunu wrote that according to Madonsela, the board’s decision to authorise the rollout was within its ambit, and legal.
Mchunu further stated that what was meant to be a speedy intervention had not yielded any positive results, and instead, “brought one of the established sectors of the economy in the province to its knees”. He wanted to put an end to the litigation.
Mchunu could not reached for comment.
The chairman of the Bingo Association, Lawrence Smith, said that the legal process had taken a long time. It had cost money and painted a negative picture of the terminals.
“Any delay is to their advantage but for the bingo industry it has cost us millions of rands as many businesses have already invested in machines,” said Smith.
He said Scott was conflicted and was biased about the bingo terminals.
He claimed she protected the horse racing and casino industries from any perceived competition.
“Since her appointment, MEC Scott has failed to honour her undertakings to the bingo licensees not to change government policy with respect to the roll-out of bingo and has escalated the disputes by taking her own gambling board to court and making changes to the Gambling Amendment Bill”.
On the allegations against Scott, head of communications for the KZN treasury, Musa Cebisa, said there was no basis to the argument that Scott was biased.
Cebisa said the statement was defamatory and devoid of truth.
clinton.moodley@inl.co .za be