A former senior employee of Vukani Gaming, a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) shortlisted for the lucrative contract to operate the national lottery for the next eight years, is part of the team evaluating the tender.
The process is increasingly plagued by a conflict of interests.
Anne-Marie Pooley is part of the team assembled by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) to adjudicate the hotly contested tender, but her relationship with one of the bidders, HCI, is not at arm’s length.
Her CV shows from 2006 to 2013 she held the position of national compliance manager at Vukani Gaming, wholly owned by the JSE-listed HCI. Pooley’s LinkedIn page suggests she then held the role of GM at the company from 2014 to 2017.
HCI, with a market value of R15bn on the JSE, acquired Vukani in 2006. In 2016, after an internal restructuring, the company sold the business to its subsidiary Tsogo Sun. Former trade unionist turned businessman Johnny Copelyn is HCI CEO and chairs Tsogo Sun.
Should any conflict of interest arise, this will be thoroughly scrutinised and raised with the adjudication committee. At this stage we are unable to disclose any information relating to the national lottery fourth licence process until its finalisation.
— National Lotteries Commission commissioner Jodi Scholtz
Pooley’s association with one of the bidders for the fourth national lottery licence does not end with HCI. Business Day has established Pooley recently invested in an establishment in Pretoria, Route 515 Pub and Grill, which houses slots and gaming machines from Gold Rush, which is also contesting the national lottery contract.
There was a notice in the Government Gazette in 2018 on an application by Gold Rush for a gaming licence for two limited payout machines for Route 515 Pub and Grill. However, an issue of the Government Gazette dated July 2024 reflected an application by Route 515 Pub and Grill to the authorities for a change in the financial interest of the entity.
That notice states: "Route 515 Pub and Grill intends on submitting an application to the Gauteng Gambling Board for the change of financial interest application to include Anne-Marie Pooley."
Company records show Pooley became the sole director of the entity in March, with the establishment’s erstwhile sole director resigning.
NLC commissioner Jodi Scholtz, who sits in the evaluation committee alongside the entity’s CFO Tina Maharaj, said members of the committee made the necessary declarations.
"Conflict of interest declarations were made by all members of the evaluation committee, and these were assessed by a legal firm.
"Should any conflict of interest arise, this will be thoroughly scrutinised and raised with the adjudication committee. At this stage we are unable to disclose any information relating to the national lottery fourth licence process until its finalisation," said Scholtz.
Pooley did not respond to requests for comment.
She is not the only bid evaluation committee member accused of conflict of interest.
City Press reported last month that Thiran Marimuthu has close links to the Gold Rush consortium, led by high-profile businessperson Sandile Zungu. According to the newspaper, Marimuthu attended the 25th anniversary organised by Gold Rush in November.
Business Day reported previously that most companies shortlisted for the tender are politically exposed.
Zungu challenged for the ANC KwaZulu-Natal chair position in 2022 before dropping out after he failed to garner enough support.
HCI is majority-owned by the SA Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union, an affiliate of Cosatu, which is in alliance with the ANC. Copelyn was one of the businesspeople who donated to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign for the ANC presidency.
One of the shortlisted bidders is Thebe Investment Corporation, half-owned by Batho Batho Trust, which according to declarations made to the Electoral Commission SA has donated R60m to the ANC since 2021.
Batho Batho Trust was founded by ANC leaders in 1992.
Ithuba, holder of the licence, is also in the running, as is Umbulelo Consortium, led by Afrirent Holdings, and Giya Games.
Vivien Natasen, implicated in state capture and for allegedly funding the lifestyle of controversial NLC chair Alfred Nevhutanda, has links to Giya Games.
GroundUp reported in 2022 that according to court documents, Natasen, through Neo Solutions, contributed R2m towards Nevhutanda's luxury mansion, while Neo Solutions had a contract with NLC.
Natasen consulted for Giya Games on its bid.
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