The Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Minister of Malta has pledged his country’s commitment to helping the National Lottery Authority to eliminate illegalities in the lottery business in Ghana.

Dr Ian Borg said his country will keep supporting the NLA to grow the lottery industry in this part of the world.

These we revealed when he paid an official visit to the NLA as part of a one-day official working visit of the Maltese Foreign Affairs Minister to Ghana.

Speaking to the press, the Director-General of the National Lottery Authority, Sammy Awuku mentioned that the visit has a lot of relevance to the operations of the NLA.

“It means a lot. First of all, they taught us how to even play this lottery and, again, they helped to establish the Department for National Lotteries that today we have the National Lottery Authority.

"Again, they have advanced in the area of this lottery and gaming industry; they’ve had inbuilt systems to ensure responsible gaming, and they’ve also been very strong in eliminating illegalities,” he stated

According to him, it was the Maltese government that assisted Ghana to start the lottery business in the country, therefore the visit by the Foreign Affairs Ministers means a lot to the two countries.

“It was their countryman, William Francis Brennan, who started the business 60 years ago. It was the Maltese government that sent down Brennan, upon a request from the Ghanaian government headed by Doctor Kwame Nkrumah, paid all his allowances, and his salaries for the over 15 months that he was gifted to Ghana. Subsequently, Ghana then normalize their relationship and kept Brenham for almost nine years,” he revealed.

Sammy Awuku said the visit opens up a lot of areas for collaboration between the two countries, and they are looking forward to taking advantage of all the opportunities that will open up.

“So to have their Foreign Affairs Minister, who is their Chief Diplomat and in charge of European and trade affairs, to also pay a visit to the NLA deepens the cooperation that we have, and we’re looking forward to also assisting us to grow properly, and have the checks and balances needed as well,” he said.