Hon Deputy Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon members of this House, colleagues and comrades, the Lotteries Amendment Bill is indeed the Bill we all - beneficiaries, the board, the portfolio committee and the people of our country South Africa - have been waiting for. I want to believe that we all share noble ideas and the commitment to end poverty or simply to make a positive difference in someone's life, in all our people's lives. The small amount of money that is necessary to buy a Lotto ticket can and does contribute to this ideal of improving people's lives.
This Bill will make it easier for the intended beneficiaries, as the Minister explained, to benefit from many issues, amongst others the pro- active funding and the more permanent staff that will assist with things. It will also remove the confusion that exists in what the Act currently entails and clarify the role of the Minister. Indeed, issues of good governance are affected in but, more importantly, accountability and transparency. Just as we use taxation as an instrument to redistribute the wealth of our country and share the revenue equitably, so too this Bill seeks to underpin those principles that are captured in the Freedom Charter.
The Department of Trade and Industry has reaffirmed this call for social and economic justice in its comprehensive application to this piece of legislation. We must indeed thank the Minister, Dr Rob Davies, for his courage and conviction over a four-and-half-year journey to finally bring us this Bill, a Bill that will make that difference, assisted by the Director-General and his team, Mr Lionel October. We truly thank them. I want to personally thank the committee for truly unpacking and scrutinising this. Together with the department we have produced a piece of legislation which we believe will address the outstanding challenges we have been facing since they were recognised in a review mechanism conducted before we even came to this term, but more specifically during our term.
Some of the challenges which have been addressed by the Lotteries Amendment Bill are in line with what the portfolio committee raised in 2009. They include the fact that the National Lotteries Board had been unable to enforce the Act effectively even through court action. There was a need to professionalise the grant-making and to bring about a formal relationship between the National Lotteries Board and the proposed grant-making institutions.
We need to look at the purpose and the objectives of the Bill. The Minister has already dealt with many of these, but I think some of the most important things was providing for the extension of the powers of the commission and making it quite clear what the separation was between the board and the commission, and stating the purpose of the commission itself.
When we look at the commission, I must say that now that we have professional and clear functions of the commission, the composition has already been dealt with. I am very pleased to say that this commission will plug a lot of the loopholes that we currently have.
Secondly, when we look at gambling, I do not think that the purpose in our country, in our government has been to promote gambling right from the Wiehahn Commission many years ago, and even now. We need to recognise that there are different forms of gambling. One form of gambling is the gambling you see in the casinos and the like. The priority is to make profits to the shareholders and then, through our legislation, to serve the needs of the community through local economic development.
On the other hand, the revenue model applied by the National Lottery, and reflected in this Bill today, is to maximise revenue through the small amount that we use to purchase a Lotto ticket. However, the profit or the revenue or the income that arises from the purchases of tickets is essentially for the beneficiaries. In the past these beneficiaries were restricted, and the whole process of their application was extremely difficult. The hon Gcwabaza will be explaining in detail how proactive gambling hopes to address these difficulties as we got complaints from both sides of the House and the constituents; indeed, many of them came from the constituents of the DA. This Bill is now going to ensure that the difficulties they experienced will indeed be addressed. We want to thank the Minister, the department and indeed our own government, the ANC government, for facilitating the discussions and the improvement on policy in this direction, which they did with a number of stakeholders in dialogue and in speaking to them about how best they can do things. This process of consultation has, as we would expect, produced greater public participation, which has brought about an even more effective and sharper instrument.
Another issue that we must point out is that the categories that have now been addressed can now be broadened, though of course without ring-fencing the issue. Instead of one area or sector of society benefiting at the expense of the other, you will have professionals who will work in evaluating and assessing where the best, most constructive good will be done. We must also remember that the kinds of grants that are made through this Bill are not intended to replace the work of the public budget or indeed to supersede the normal raising of revenue by institutions and individuals in this regard.
I would like to say something that I believe is very important, and that is that the ANC-led government, through harnessing the positive aspects of the Lotto, does so informed by its principles of redistribution and reconciliation. I also want - I am sure hon Buthelezi would also appreciate this - to refer to "ubuhlobo bethu nezwe lonke" [our relationship with the whole country]. In this way our humanity is more expressed when we approach the intention of the Lotto, which is to try to contribute to the improvement of the lives of all our people, especially the most vulnerable.
The ANC supports this Bill. I must add at this time that I want to thank all members of the committee for their constructive input and for the many hours they devote to this committee, even way after most of Parliament is in darkness. Thank you all. [Applause.]