For us, this significant point in our history comes as the country celebrates 25 years of democracy – which has enhanced our appreciation of how far we have really come as an organisation in our pursuit of nation building.

We’ve often said that when the NLC was established we were entering unchartered territory for South Africa. This was the reality of many government entities in the new dispensation. Ours however, was unique in that we had a dual, symbiotic mandate that created much expectation – and the added incentive for members of the public to become overnight millionaires. The heat was on, and we had a nation to serve.

One could look at the first few years as a practical test. The model of the NLC was not a global first, but the South African context was like no other. Poverty, unemployment and inequality plagued us as we tried to strike the balance between developing country and first world advancements. Despite this, the vibrancy of the country’s NPO and civil society sector became part of our value chain in funding good causes, and by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, our teenaged organisation had regulated a successful national lottery with a second operating licence in place, and had become part of the fibre of society as The Catalyst for Social Upliftment.

After the euphoria of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, an air of reflection seemed to settle on South Africa as a whole.

We had proven to the world (and indeed to ourselves) that we could host a world class event with little incident, and by implication, set the bar even higher for ourselves.

As the NLC, this translated into time for review of the legislation that governed us, our relevance to society, and areas where we could improve through an impact study. This led to the amendment of the Act and its proclamation in 2015. The rest, as they say, is proverbial history.

Except that history is what we create every day. The period of transition required us to paint a clear picture of our vision to our stakeholders. There were corners of apprehension about the implications of the amended Act and related regulations. As an organisation, we understood that our stakeholders looked to the NLC for hope, and we implemented intensive engagements countrywide to ease those fears and cement our commitment to regulating lotteries, and protecting the public from scams – while impressing the importance of not only funding for good causes but Funding for Impact.

In the last five years we have streamlined and refined our internal make-up and processes to support the desired state and to increase access to our services. The most significant action here being the establishment of fully capacitated offices in each province.

This has enhanced the quality and reach of education, awareness and capacity building programmes.

The amended Lotteries Act has been fully implemented, and we have consecutively achieved 100% of our pre-determined objectives and maintained clean audits opinions.

It has not been without its challenges, but we continue to overcome and appreciate that our strategic objectives are realised with the support of a team whose personal values are aligned to those of the organisation at large. From those who sweep our floors to those who make tough decisions. For this I would like to send my personal appreciation to all the Catalysts who come to work with the purpose of Changing Lives.

Customer service and efficient service delivery are the hallmark of an organisation that cares. Stakeholder engagement is the yardstick that we use to keep ourselves on track.

We also continue to establish and strengthen partnerships that can help us cast the net of services to a wider audience, or to enhance the quality of output.

The executive team enjoys continuous support and governance from the Board with Prof. Nevhutanda at the helm.

With one completed term as the Commissioner under my belt, I count the various experiences at the NLC as stepping stones, that will help us build toward the attainment of our goals.

Every so often, we have opportunities to see the impact of our work in the lives of the most vulnerable people in our communities. Understanding what would have been in the absence of an organisation like the National Lotteries Commission is what gives us courage to move on to the next 20 years of changing lives with renewed energy.