The National Lottery Authority in the Upper East Region on Thursday expressed gratitude to its clientele for patronizing its products in the Region and prayed such commitment would continue in 2013.
Mr John Joseph Dassah, Regional Manager for NLA in the Upper East Region, expressed the gratitude in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga and said the positive achievement by the Authority in 2012 was greatly attributable to the stakes they took with the NLA.
He was grateful to the patrons for their understanding, trust and patience when the Authority had some few hitches in the later part of the year and said the confidence reposed in the NLA to deliver, was highly appreciated.
Mr Dassah urged Lotto Marketing Companies (LMCs) that worked with the Authority in the past to continue with their dedicated services and reminded them of the existing laws that prohibited the staking of illegal lottery in the country, especially banker-to-banker.
He, therefore, called on the LMCs to be ambassadors in the fight against banker-to-banker operations and said as long as they were a public of the NLA it behooved on them to continuously fight against the practice, adding that by doing that they stood a greater chance of promoting their businesses better since they would be the only recognized bodies charged with retailing the Authority's products.
The Regional Manager further warned that the NLA would not countenance any LMC that indulged in illegal retailing of any product from the Authority.
He recalled that within the year 2012, the NLA made special presentations to the Region as part of its social responsibility activity and said the maternity unit of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital received assorted items running into thousands of Ghana cedis and cheque of GH¢5000 to the Builsa Traditional Council towards its annual Feok festival.
Mr Dassah noted that attention of the NLA was drawn to the Region because of several factors including increased sales from LMCs and commended patrons of NLA products to continue to have faith and confidence in Authority since it was the only institution that could make patrons rich without dipping hands sensitive monies.
He assured patrons and LMCs of the Authority's plans to improve on lottery in the country by introducing more products on to the market.
He commended the NLA Board and management staff for their relentless efforts at bringing innovative products and services to the NLA and referred to their quick intervention when the authority was confronted with the Simnet challenges in the last quarter of the year.