Lionel October has been appointed as the new acting Commissioner of the South African National Lotteries Commission (NLC), according to GroundUp.
The South African news outlet has reported that October has taken the place of Thabang Mampane, who resigned with immediate effect last month amid allegations of embezzlement.
Mampane served for nearly ten years as Commissioner of the South African NLC, but she quit just weeks before her second five-year term was due to expire.
GroundUp had previously reported that her home had been bought with lottery money.
October, the former Director-General of the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC), began his term as acting Commissioner on Thursday, September 1.
He will be joined by human rights lawyer Barney Pityana, who has been appointed as the new Chair of the South African NLC Board.
Like October, Pityana began her role on September 1, with the South African NLC purportedly in the process of making ‘major changes’ following a scandal-ridden year.
GroundUp has previously reported how hundreds of millions of rands from lottery grants, meant for ‘good causes’, have been lost to fraud and corruption.
Last October, the Commission’s COO, Phillemon Letwaba, was suspended following allegations of corruption and a probe into illegal activities.
He has faced further allegations this year, which he has denied.
