The Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Mr Kofi Osei Ameyaw, has set up a 3-member committee to probe allegations of unpaid winnings across the country.

According to the Director-General, the mandate of the committee is to “verify, validate and authenticate” documents of persons in the category of big wins.

Meanwhile, the National Labour Commission (NLC) has declared the strike by staff of the NLA as “wrongful and unfair” and has ordered them to call off their suspension of services and resume work immediately.

The NLC has also directed the management of the NLA to meet with the leadership of the workers’ union to address their concerns.

At the hearing at the National Labour Commission on Monday, 1 March 2021, the leadership of the workers’ union of the National Lottery Authority raised concerns about the safety and security of their workers arising from alleged unpaid winnings.

Mr Ameyaw explained to the NLC that in this day and age where cyber-crime has become a big issue, big wins are thoroughly investigated, verified and validated before payment of the said wins.

“These processes usually take time”, he said, but assured the Commission that there is a committee set up to address the issue.

Mr Ameyaw noted that anybody whose wins has not been paid should present all their relevant documents to the committee and if it is cleared, the winning shall be paid within 14 days.