According to news reports, the Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman, announced that the proceeds of the “Lotto Fund” will be paid directly into the Consolidated Fund and that the Minister of Finance would issue the relevant order soon. This is welcome news and a victory for public accountability after 20 years of struggle to get the Government to recognize that the proceeds are public revenues which have to be paid over to the Treasury and that no expenditure can be incurred without Parliamentary approval.
Historical background
In 1995, the Government of Guyana and the Canadian Bank Note (CBN) entered into an agreement for the latter to conduct a national lottery. CBN agreed to pay a licensee fee to the Government of 24 per cent of the gross revenue while the Government undertook not to permit another lottery of similar scope