23-11-2012
A team of officials from the National Lottery Authority (NLA) had
presented a cheque for GHc 5,000 to support the upcoming Feok festival
celebrated by the chiefs and people of Builsa Traditional Area. This donation
is in line with its mandate of promoting culture and heritage in the country.
The team led by the Director, Special Projects, George Gyamfi –Osew also handed
over 50 NLA labeled T-shirts to support the upcoming event. Receiving the
cheque at the office of the District Chief Executive, the Siniesi Nab, Nab
Apig-Jiak Afulang expressed the council’s heartfelt gratitude to NLA and
assured them that the gesture would be used for its intended purpose. Nab
Afulang observed that with the presentation of the cheque, the celebration of
this year’s Feok Festival which usually comes off every December will be
celebrated with pump and pageantry. He therefore on behalf of the Acting
Sandem-Nab, Nab Clement Akanko, thanked the authority for the gesture and
appealed to other cooperate institutions to also contribute their bit towards a
successful Feok Festival. The Director, Special Projects of the NLA, Mr Gyamfi
–Osew, said the donation which forms in line with their corporate social
responsibility was not only meant to support the activities of the upcoming event
but also to provide educational support in the district. The donation, he
further explained, forms part of the authorities 50 years of existence,
indicating that similar donations have been made in other regions to support
their respective festivities. He disclosed that his outfit as part of its
silver Jubilee had supported various health facilities in the country with
assorted items to enhance the quality of health care delivery. Mr. George
Osew, took the opportunity to educate the council about the operations of the
NLA, stressing that the NLA was established to generate revenue for national
development through games and was the only institution mandated by an Act, Act
722 of 2006 to conduct lotto business in the country. The said Act, he pointed
out, affords the authority the exclusive right and license to operate lotto
services in Ghana, therefore any activity in contravention with the law was
considered as illegal. Mr George-Osew, therefore appealed to the council to
help clamp down on illegal lotto operators otherwise referred to as ‘Banker to
Banker’ since their activities was affecting their operations. Such miscreants,
he lamented should be seen as saboteurs and must not be entertained in any
form. He said with the introduction of the automated machine, persons
interested in working for the authority are advised to register with the
authority since it comes with no fee. Mr. George- Osew urged the general
public, particularly the teeming unemployed youth to register with the NLA to
help improve their livelihood. The DCE, Mr. Norbert Awulley, for his part
thanked NLA for the gesture and encouraged the public to cooperate with the NLA
to enable them rake more revenue for rapid development. The annual celebration
of the Feok festival is marked to signify the good harvest throughout the
farming season, and to honour their ancestors for capturing Babatu and Samori,
the notorious slave raiders who use to worry the people. It is also an occasion
to drum home the need for peace and an opportunity to bring all the people
together.
GBC END
IA/
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