Lotteries board CEO quits: DA

National Lotteries Board spokesman Sershan Naidoo has declined to confirm or deny reports that CEO Vevek Ram has resigned.

However, he said on Friday the board would "shortly" issue a statement on the matter.

Earlier, the Democratic Alliance said Ram's letter of resignation was received and accepted by the NLB on Friday morning.

DA spokesman Jacques Smalle said: "This is a step in the right direction."

"Mr Ram presided over a prolonged period of mismanagement and administrative chaos, he said.

"In the last year especially, the NLB has begun operating increasingly like an ANC slush fund even as deserving charities and NGOs struggled to access funding."

Smalle said the distribution agencies and NLB had been stacked with ANC cadres for some time. Many of them needed to be replaced with individuals who had the relevant expertise.

"Before a fundamental transformation can take place, the current management will have to be replaced. A forensic audit into all grants allocated in the last three years is also a vital requirement."